The New Ms Rogers
by SincerelyKayo
Summary: Steve meets a teenage girl with a dark past while recovering from the events of the Winter Soldier. After discovering she was at the top of Hydra's kill list he decides to adopt her. She quickly begins exhibiting abilities too useful for the Avengers to ignore, thereby securing a place for herself among the team. This is her story, told through Steve's eyes. Changed to T R/R
1. Chapter 1

I groaned as I opened my eyes. Music was playing in the background, though I couldn't tell what the song was.

"Hiya!" a cheerful voice said. I turned to find the source of the voice, grimacing in pain as I did so. I found a girl with long, brown hair and piercing silver eyes in front of me, balanced on a chair with her knees brought all the way up to her chest.

She was tiny, excessively so. The bones in her arms, legs, and shoulders were clearly apparent, her skin too pale to have seen the sun in the last year. Her hair and eyes were dull, the piercing gaze holding back a world of unknown pain, but the smile on her thin face was sincere and bright.

"Hi," I said, my voice coming out sore.

"'Bout time you woke up," she leaned over to check the name on the top of the clipboard at the foot of my bed. "Mr. Rogers."

"How long have you been there?" I asked.

"About three hours. But you've been here somewhere around three weeks it looks like," she said.

"That long?" I groaned. That would explain why my muscles felt tight and sore. Thank God for the serum that made me the way I was, otherwise coming back from this would be torture.

"Yeah, your buddy let me in when I told him I was on the lam from the nurses. He went for a coffee. Should be back in the next five minutes."

I had been referring to how long I had been in the hospital, but I decided not to clarify.

"Which buddy?" I asked instead.

"VA dude. We had a very nice conversation on PTSD before he left." I raised my eyebrows.

"You know what that is?" I asked. The girl scoffed.

"Army brat. Learn it, live it, love it. Not." She rolled her eyes and then glared at the wall for a few moments.

I took advantage of the girl's brooding silence by beginning to move my arms and legs, trying to figure out the damage. "So what're you in here for?" the girl asked. I grimaced.

"I got shot," I said.

"Yuck, hate it when that happens."

"You know what it feels like?" I asked, even more surprised then when she mentioned the PTSD.

"Yeah, been there, done that, sucks to be alive! At least the recovery makes you think so. I can't tell you how many nights I was like 'why God?! Why didn't it just kill me?!'" The girl did a fabulous imitation of a desperate, hopeless whine, including dropping on her knees and reaching her arms to the sky, as in a silent plea towards the heavens.

The spectacle was so ridiculous I couldn't help but laugh, though I quickly regretted it. "Okay, I'll wait until you're better before I do something like that again," the girl said as she very slowly stood back up, noticing my laughter quickly delving into painful grimacing.

"Thank you," I said. The girl tipped an imaginary hat. She pushed herself, once again very slowly, back into the chair and drew her knees back up to her chin. I decided to mimic her earlier question.

"How about you? What are you in here for?" The girl sighed.

"Originally, I was in here because I was comatose. A bad accident happened, left me as good as a vegetable for a long time. Now though, the idiot doctors think my brain was exposed to way too much radiation and so they're keeping me locked up in here. It's so boring!" she complained.

"Too much radiation?" I asked.

"Yeah, apparently it's a miracle I'm still alive, though if they don't let me out soon it's going to be them thanking God for yet another day," she threatened.

"How long have you been in here?"

"Two, dang, months! Since I've been awake! Don't get me started on before that!" the girl threw her arms out, slowly, as she exclaimed her frustrations. She was very dramatic, though reduced physical capabilities, most likely caused by her previously comatose state, ensured she was rather slow about it all.

"Any idea when they'll let you out?" I asked.

"At least not until they find me a new guardian. Until then, there are no complaints about keeping me here longer. The doctors think I'm some kind of miracle and therefore study me at every opportunity. It sucks."

"I'll bet," I said, slightly disturbed at the poor girl's state.

"Well, look who's finally gotten their beauty rest," a familiar voice said. I turned to see Sam walk in the door with a large cup of coffee.

I chuckled. "Hi Sam," I said.

"How you feeling?" He asked.

"Like shit," I replied. "My apologies," I said, remembering the girl in the room.

"No need to apologize. Heard it all before, said it all myself," she said, leaning forward on her hands which were gripping the edge of the stool. I turned back to Sam.

"Bucky?" I asked.

"MIA."

I sighed, rubbing a hand through my hair. It was going to take a long time to track him down again but at least he was alive.

Sam changed the subject. "I see you've met Ms. Nights," he said, ruffling her hair as he stood by her.

"We haven't been introduced yet." Sam looked down at the girl.

"You haven't introduced yourself yet?" he asked.

"Uh… No? Where I come from introductions aren't exactly necessary," the girl said.

"Well, here it's considered polite. Go on and introduce yourself." The girl glared.

"If we're talking about being polite then it's him who has to be introduced to me. Guys are always introduced to the girl, not vice versa," she retorted, lifting her nose in a supposedly dignified manner. Once again, she was very slow about it all.

I laughed. "She's got you there." Sam rubbed a hand through his short hair.

"That she does," he said. The girl sported a triumphant grin as she slowly crossed her arms.

"My name is Captain Steve Rogers. Yours?" I asked.

"Commander Nights Sawamura," she said, sticking out a hand, slowly. I shook it, unable to help a smile at her obvious embellishment.

"You're Captain America, right?" she asked after I had released her hand.

"Yes, ma'am."

"That is so cool," she said, resting her chin on top of her knees.

"What are you doing in here?" a harsh, female voice demanded. Nights jumped, very slowly, before a hurt puppy look came over her features. I turned and found a heavyset nurse in the hallway.

"She's visiting. Is that okay?" I said. The nurse glared.

"No, it is not okay. I know for a fact this mischievous little devil is on the run. You get back to your room right now!" the nurse said.

The girl sighed. "Bye guys," she said, her tone matching the dejected expression on her face. The nurse grabbed her hand and was about to march her back to her room when I called out to them.

"Come back and visit tomorrow Nights."

She stopped a hopeful expression on her face. "Really?!" she asked.

"Of course. Provided the warden agrees," I said, directing it at the nurse. The girl looked up at the nurse, a pleading expression on her face.

"I suppose for a little while," the nurse said, her voice disgruntled.

"Yay! I'll be back as soon as I can!" Nights exclaimed. "Bye-bye!"

"Bye!" me and Sam called after her as she and the nurse left.

"Well, she's certainly an interesting girl, isn't she?" Sam said.

"She's been shot before. And she could carry on a conversation about PTSD with you?" I asked.

"Yup. She knew more about it than I did too."

I shook my head, wondering what kind of a girl Nights Sawamura really was.

 **A/N: Wow, it's been ages since I've updated or done anything with this fic! I'm home from college for Christmas break and I decided to take on the ridiculously huge task of going through and updating and editing all of my fics, both on this site and on my Wattpad. Whether or not I'll succeed remains to be seen but I've already finished editing my story Ghost and decided to do this one next. It's going to take a lot longer though because this one is a longer fic and the pacing if I remember correctly was absolutely awful. Hopefully, I'll be able to fix that. But yeah! Keep checking back! Good things still coming!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So editing this one is turning out to be much more difficult than originally anticipated. And of course, that means it's not turning out as good. *Cringe* I don't know guys. Should I just delete this whole thing and start over? Review and let me know what you think.**

"Good-mornin' handsomes!" A cheerful voice said. Nights walked in dramatically, though slowly, her arms spread out, a smile on her face. I chuckled.

"Just me at the moment I'm afraid," I said.

"Whaaat? Really? I wasted that dramatic entrance on just one person? Pooh!"

I rolled my eyes. It was three days after I had woken up and Nights had been in each day to visit. She provided some much-needed color in the dreary hospital room where I was currently imprisoned.

"So how we doing today Jeeves?" she asked, flopping, somehow still very slowly, on my bed by my feet. I smiled.

"Fine, how about you?" I asked. I had discovered quite a few things about Nights in the few days we had known each other. The girl liked hooded onesies and had a rather alarming obsession with coffee and soda, she enjoyed flopping places, she did things very slowly, though very dramatically and she could eat more than I could. She also liked Japanese cartoons called "Anime" and comic books called "Manga." She had tried to get me stuck on them yesterday but I couldn't get past the huge head and extremely large eyes.

"I'm DOING GREAT STEVE! I REALLY FEEL LIKE I COULD LEAVE TODAY!" Nights said, in a loud voice. She was also very loud. I smiled.

"I don't think that's going to work," I said. She shrugged her shoulders in that slow, dramatic manner of hers.

"Worth a shot. Any idea when you get released?" she asked.

"Sometime next week," I replied. She swore, drawing her knees up to her chest and pouting.

"No fair," she said, reaching back and pulling the hood part of her onesie over her head. She was wearing the Totoro one today. I was beginning to think it was her favorite.

"Any luck in the guardian finding field?" I asked. Nights was an orphan. I wasn't sure on the details but I was pretty sure "they" had been killed at around the time she had been shot. That may have even been when they died. I didn't know how many "they" consisted of, but I was pretty sure she had at least one sibling.

"Terrible!" she said, throwing her arms out and falling on her back, somehow very slowly. "Apparently, I look bad on paper." I raised an eyebrow.

"How do you look bad on paper?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders. She stuck her feet up in the air, something she did to stretch out her back.

"Probably all of the "traumatic experiences" I've been through," she said, making air quotes.

"How many of those have you been through?" I asked.

"If you're asking me, none. If you ask someone else, my whole life has been one traumatic experience after another. For argument's sake though, we'll say three."

 _That would explain the pain in her eyes,_ I thought. No matter how big her smile was, and it could get pretty big, she could never quite get rid of the deep sadness in her eyes. She sat up slowly.

"Okay, we're going to introduce you to country music now!" she said, popping off the bed and running, slowly, to grab the remote from the desk where Sam had left it after the three of us finished watching the _Star Wars_ movies last night. We'd had a very interesting debate on whether the actor for Mace Windu was actually Nick Fury's twin brother.

"It wouldn't surprise me. If the guy was as shady as you said he was, it's entirely possible," Nights had said as she snuck a handful of popcorn out of Sam's bowl. Sam had rolled his eyes, not noticing the tiny hand smuggling popcorn.

"You could tell me that guy was one of a set of triplets and I wouldn't be surprised," he'd said.

"Fury was one of a set of triplets." Sam shot Nights a look as she smirked innocently. I laughed.

"Very funny Ms. Sawamura," he said.

"It's Commander Sawamura!" Nights insisted. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Commander Sawamura," he amended.

"Want to start with Johnny Cash or Jimmy Buffet?" Nights' question tore me back to the presence.

"Johnny Cash has more variety. Jimmy Buffet mainly sings about cheeseburgers, happy hour and margaritas," she said.

"Uh, Johnny Cash then."

Nights pressed a few buttons before a deep voice came on and started singing about having been everywhere. "Ugh!" Sam exclaimed as he walked in. "Why are we listening to my least favorite kind of music?" he asked.

"Because I once lived an hour away from Nashville and country music is in my soul! We're indoctrinating Steve with it today," Nights said. "Touch the remote and you die!" she added when she saw Sam going for it.

I smirked as I tried to determine which would be funnier, Nights actually trying to kill Sam, or Nights actually accomplishing it. "You cannot be okay with this?" Sam asked, pointing to where the music was coming from.

"I'm actually enjoying it," I said, in all truthfulness. Sam's jaw almost dropped.

"You cannot be serious. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Nights smirked deviously behind him as she made a reach for his wallet.

Following my eyes as I watched her, Sam turned and would've caught her in the act had she not exhibited uncharacteristic amounts of speed, bringing her hands behind her back quickly and smiling innocently. "Leave my wallet alone. What are you, six?" he asked.

"Sixteen."

"What?" Sam asked.

"I'm sixteen. Not six. The doctors will tell you I'm thirteen, for some reason I started aging backward while I was comatose, but I'm actually sixteen," Night clarified.

Me and Sam jumped. "You're serious?!" he demanded.

"Yup!" Nights replied.

"But you act like you're twelve!"

"Those who can, should. I can get away with acting like I'm twelve so I'm going to do it. Besides, being an adult and acting like one is a pain the ass. Been doing it for years, so now's as good a time as any to take a break before I get another foster family or whatever and have to start acting like an adult again," she reasoned.

"I… can't really argue with that," Sam said.

"Good!" Now back to country music!" Nights turned back to the TV and changed it from Johnny Cash to something else.

Me and Sam shared a look behind her back. What had she been doing that forced her to act like an adult? And did I really want to know?


	3. Chapter 3

"Let's go for a walk!" Nights said. I had been in the hospital almost a week now and had just been given the clear to start walking. Nights had been ecstatic when she found out and now insisted on going on a walk every hour on the hour. Of course having been cooped up and unable to leave my bed, I wasn't exactly inclined to protest.

I stood up slowly and disentangled myself from all the tubes and wires. "Dude, we have _got_ to teach you how to do that faster," Nights said as I looked around to detach my last wire whose end I could not find.

Nights reached over and pulled something, the last wire coming off with a "pop!" She jumped slowly off her chair. "Lezgo!" she cried, practically prancing over to the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked once we exited my room. Nights stopped in her tracks, putting a hand to her chin in thought.

"Got a wallet?" she finally asked.

"Back in my room."

"Then let's go to the food court!" she exclaimed. For reasons I was still incapable of understanding, Nights was obsessed with food.

"Are you hungry again? We just ate lunch." Nights glared.

"Look buddy, when you been subsisting on whatever they shove down your feeding tube as long as I have, you tend to wanna eat whatever gets in reach. Now I know for a fact that there is a perfectly good chick-fil-a down there calling my name and you're making me wait. So get your wallet and let me show you the wonders of fast food."

She turned and began to walk down the hallway. I rolled my eyes playfully, retrieving my wallet before I followed her. We walked in silence for a moment before someone I knew passed.

Dave the physical therapist had come in yesterday to figure out the damage of the bullets that Bucky had put into me, surprised that despite my long coma I was fit as a fiddle. "Hi Captain Rogers! Ms. Nights!" he said, stopping in front of us.

"Hi Dave," Nights said. "And how are we doing today?" Nights glared darkly.

"Terrible! This guy just woke up a week ago and now he's walking faster than I am, even though I didn't get shot and I've been working on my physical therapy for two months! Why?!"

Dave smiled amusedly. "Because you were in a coma for two years and he was not. Besides, you're making wonderful progress! You've gotten stronger faster than little kids who have been immobilized for half as long as you were. You should be proud!" he said.

Nights raised an eyebrow, unamused. "You were comatose for two years?" I asked.

"Right before she had finished recovering from being shot," Dave added.

"Hey! What is this, break patient confidentiality agreements in the hallway day?!" Nights complained indignantly.

"Whoops! Sorry," Dave said. Nights glared before sighing. She grabbed my hand and began to drag me off.

"Come on Steve. I'm starving." I turned over my shoulder and waved to Dave.

"Nice seeing you again," I called.

"You too!" he replied.

We continued our walk in silence, Nights brooding beside me. Finally, we reached the food court, Nights telling me to order her an eight count chicken nuggets with a Mellow Yello before she ran off to find us a table. A few minutes after ordering, our order was called and I carried it carefully back to the table.

"YUM!" Nights' reaction to the greasy food in front of her was like an instant mood changer. A second after the first fry was in her mouth she was smiling and laughing again. I didn't want to ruin her mood but I had a question that I wanted answered.

"Two years in a coma?" I asked. She glared, popping a nugget into her mouth. She swallowed.

"I'm going to murder Dave for that," she said.

"Why were you comatose for two years?"

"You know that's a funny question coming from a guy who was also comatose for, how long? Seventy years?" she shot back.

"Give or take," I said. "But that was because I froze after the plane I was in went down in a frozen wasteland."

Nights sighed. "Long story short, something happened with my brain. It took a while to fix."

"And the getting shot part?"

"Pushing our luck are we? Some idiot got hold of a gun and I ended up at the wrong end of it. End of story," she said, punctuating it by putting a nugget in her mouth.

"I'm sorry."

"Why? It's not like you could've done anything," she said. "Now shut up and eat your grease."

Her eyes were smiling when she said it, even though her face was serious and those hazel orbs still held that heart wrenching sadness. I returned the smile and took a bite of my chicken sandwich. It was really good.

"So, word on the street is that you get released next week. Is that true?" Nights asked on our way back.

"Looks like it," I replied.

"You and Sam are gonna say goodbye before you go right?" she asked.

"Of course."

"Fabulous!" she said, placing her hands behind her back.

"Any news on the foster family?"

"Not a word. Oh well. They can't keep me here forever! I heard one of the nurses say they had almost finished testing me for everything they could think of, so I should be out of here soon."

"Well, hopefully that's true," I said.

"Believe me buddy, you're not the only one hoping." We reached my room.

"See you tomorrow Jeeves!" Nights said.

"See you tomorrow!" I laughed.

I turned the light on in my room and found Natasha sitting in the chair. "How long have you been waiting there?" I asked.

"Not very long. I had someone else to visit too, but they were gone."

"Everything fixed with the politicians?"

"Eh, you know how they are. They'll find something else to be paranoid about tomorrow," she said.

"That's true."

"Heard you get out next week."

"Yeah," I replied.

"Well, when you're ready for it, Hydra still has some remnants running around. We should take care of those before we do anything more," Natasha said. I sighed.

"Fine. But afterwards, I'm going to go look for Bucky."

"You won't find him. Not if he doesn't want to be found," she said.

"Maybe. But now that I know he's alive, I still have to look. He'd do the same for me."

"You boys are adorable. Well, I better get going. I'll be back to pick you up next week. Okay?" she asked.

"Works for me."

"Bye Steve," she said, leaving the room. I sat on the bed and sighed. It was going to be a fun work week next week.

 **Okay, next chapter Steve gets released so we should be out of the hospital by then. I was going to have him released this chapter but I think Nights' and his friendship needed to develop more so I added this. Please review, I can't get better if no one tells me how I'm messing up! Also, this is the one place where saying "Gimme, gimmee, gimmee!" repeatedly will work. The more you ask for it, the quicker I'll update!**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, just realized that I have forgotten a little something. Namely, to state as loudly as possible that I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS! If I did, Tony would be more of an ass and less of an annoyance. I do own the plot of this FanFiction though and Nights' character is most definitely mine. Other than that, don't own it. But then you've all already figured that out, haven't you? Clever devils. I like you!**

Finally, the day for my release came. Sam and Natasha were there while the doctor cleared me for the last time. "Take it easy for the next few days. Though I don't know why. You're pretty much healed," the doctor said.

"Yes sir," I replied. The doctor nodded before leaving, allowing me to put my shirt back on so I could leave. I turned to Natasha.

"What is it?" I asked. She had that look on her face, like when she has something she's hiding. She smiled.

"You're getting better. We're still liquidating Hydra remnants. Most of them are pushovers just hiding but there's one that's actively trying to follow their last orders."

"And?" I asked.

Natasha shrugged. "They're on the way back. If you're up for it, I was thinking maybe we could do a quick takeout. But we'd have to leave now."

I looked over at Sam. He shook his head. "Nights is having a CT scan. She won't be out for at least another half hour."

"You can come back and say goodbye tomorrow. If we wait, we'll miss them." I sighed.

"She's going to give me hell over it, isn't she?" I asked Sam.

"You should say goodbye to your sorry ass now," he said. I nodded.

"You've got my shield in the car?"

"Of course," Natasha said, that smile on her face.

"I'll leave a note with the nurse. Let's go," I said. Sam shook his head, chuckling slightly as he probably thought about how many ways Nights was going to chew my ass when I came back tomorrow.

Five minutes later, we were out of the building and driving to the Hydra holdout. I looked out the window as Nat drove. I rubbed a hand through my hair.

I didn't feel right leaving without saying goodbye to Nights, even though I had promised that I would. Sure, I was leaving to take care of the remnants of a terrorist organization that had the potential to completely ruin the lives of hundreds or thousands, maybe even millions, of people, including her, but even still. I couldn't help feeling guilty.

Now that I thought about it, I was really going to miss her. After a couple weeks of her, as she put it, respectful irreverence, and peculiar ways, as well as her offbeat humor, I was used to her. Even now, only a couple miles away from her, things felt dreary.

"Here we are," Nat said, disrupting me from my thoughts.

"What's the plan?" Sam asked from his place in the back seat.

"Go in and knock them all out?" Natasha suggested.

"Works for me," I said, opening the door and stepping out. My suit was a comfortable glove, like putting on an old favorite pair of pants, and my shield a comfortable weight on my arm. We had stopped a few blocks away, deciding a rooftop approach would be best.

We climbed a fire escape and began our rooftop trek. "You okay Cap?" Falcon asked after we finished climbed another ladder.

"Never better," I said. He nodded. We continued in silence, moving quickly. Finally, we reached the building the Hydra holdouts were in.

"Who wants the window and who wants the door?" Black Widow asked.

"Door," I said at the same time Falcon said "Window."

"I'll go door with Steve," Black Widow said. We opened the roof access and began to climb down the stairs quietly, ready for anything. Thirty seconds later, we were outside the door.

"One, two, three," I silently counted to Black Widow. On three, we broke the door in, charging into the apartment. The _empty_ apartment.

"I thought you said they'd be here."

"They must've changed their plans," Black Widow said, going to one of the computers and booting it up.

"Guys? What's going on?" Sam asked over comms.

"They're not here. The place is empty," I replied.

"That's not good," he said.

"No kidding," I commented.

"It gets worse," Black Widow said.

"How so?"

"They have the algorithm on this laptop. It's got an updated list for Hydra threats," she said.

"What do you mean updated?" I asked, walking over.

"One thousand people have been added to the list, compared to the one they had when the helicarriers went down. Sorry Cap, but you're no longer the number one threat," she teased.

"Who is?" Falcon asked.

"Oh, this isn't good," Black Widow said.

"What is it?" I demanded.

"It's Phil's daughter," she explained.

"Phil had a daughter?"

"Quick question. Who's Phil and why is his daughter at the top of Hydra's kill list?"

"Fury ran into a girl with a high aptitude for espionage and all that. Phil and her got along really well, so he adopted her. Unfortunately, one of SHIELD's training programs went wrong. A virtual reality program meant for combat simulation and training refused to let her out after she had been logged on. She was comatose at the time of Loki's attack and she only just woke up about two months ago. She's the person I was at the hospital to visit when I came that one time," Black Widow said, typing rapidly on the keys.

"Cap that sounds like-"

"Nights," I breathed. I shoved Black Widow aside, checking the list she had been previously looking at. The name at the top was Reala Coulson.

"Is she checked into the hospital under an alias?" I asked.

"Nights Sawamura is what's she's been checked in under. Do you two know her?"

"Where are the Hydra agents?" I demanded. I had a rock in my gut that was making me extremely uneasy. Black Widow moved back in front of the computer, typing quickly.

"It looks like they're planning on neutralizing all the members on the list, starting with the top," Black Widow said.

"Starting when?" I growled.

"First operation, codenamed Little Girl, ugh awful name, started, shit, five minutes ago," Black Widow said.

"SHIT!" I exclaimed, running for the door.

"Cap wait!" Black Widow exclaimed.

"Falcon, I'm going to need a lift!" I yelled throw the comms as I ran down the stairs.

"Coming right atcha!" he said. I burst through the door and five seconds later felt my feet lift off the ground as Sam picked me up.

"To Nights?" he asked.

"And hurry!" I said. _Please God, don't let them get to her. Don't let them kill her,_ I prayed desperately as we flew towards the hospital.

 _"You never really appreciate what you have, the people in your life, until they're gone."_ Nights' words rang in my head. She had been talking about Chinese food and the man who had delivered it, but now I was seeing just how true her words were.

 _Just hold out till I get there!_ I begged. "We're here, where do you want me to drop you?" he asked, circling around Nights window. I saw several darks forms in the room, moving around. _Dear God, no!_

"Send me straight through the window!" I yelled.

"One window buster, coming straight up."

Falcon flew close to the side of the hospital, levelling with Nights' window. "Here we GO!" he said, releasing me. I pulled my shield in front of me, waiting for impact.

The glass of Nights' window shattered with a "Crash", the shards falling around me as I went through the space. I hit the ground shield first, a metallic clang filling the room as I rolled, coming to stand in a fighting stance, my shield drawn back to throw at the first moving target.

My first reaction was surprise. Five bodies, clothed in black, lay on the floor, unmoving. "What?" I said.

The sound of a "Crunch!" came from the bed. I whipped my head in that direction, about to let my shield fly. I was not prepared for the sight in front of me.

Nights was on the bed, perched atop a pile of guns and knives, eating an apple. "So," she said, smacking the bite of apple in her mouth. "You got a lot of nerve."

"You leave without saying goodbye, even though you said you would, and then, you break my window." She took a bite of her apple. "Now, judging by the fact that these guys," she nudged the nearest limp body daintily with her foot, "aren't your buddies, I'm going to say the window breaking was half in order, so I won't be too mad about that."

"However," she said taking another bite of her apple. "Mm," she said, wiping some juice off her chin, "I'm still pissed you left without saying goodbye. So you better have a real good idea of how to make that up to me, otherwise you'll end up like stupid and his buddies over here," she said, gesturing with a thumb to a guy duct taped to the wall.

"Did you…" I started.

"Take out all these guys by myself?" she finished. She shrugged. "Sure. It took a lot longer than I would've liked and there were quite few of them who almost got shots off, but then I've been out of commission for a while and I've never actually done stuff like this with my real body before, so I can't really complain."

"How did you…" I asked.

Nights crossed her legs and the arm with the apple over them, leaning forward. "Since you've obviously talked to Natasha, I'll just say it straight out. Spy's kid," she said, pointed at herself.

"Now, after you talk to the doctors and feds and all those glorious people, what do you have planned as a make good for trying to slip off without saying goodbye?" she asked, sitting up.

"Nights!" Falcon said, bursting into the room, only to witness the Nights wrought carnage.

"Whoa. Did you do this Snippy?" he asked.

"Yup," she said, popping the P and taking another bite of her apple.

"You certainly haven't lost your touch. In fact, it looks like you've gained a better one," Black Widow said, entering through the door, followed by a bunch of security guards. Nights shrugged.

"What is going on in here?" Nights' doctor asked.

"Captain America and Co. has come to plea for my immediate release from hospital. I know for a fact that my last two CT scans have come back normal and there isn't anything else wrong with me, so if you'll be so kind to let me go doctor? Otherwise, I can check myself out," Nights said, popping off the bed and tossing her apple core into the garbage.

The doctor sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair. "Fine, fine, fine. You can leave," he said. Nights smiled.

"See you in the car Cap!" she sing-songed, walking out of the room.

"Go with her," I told Sam. He nodded before running after her. I sighed as the security guards and some medical personnel began to check out the men Nights had taken out.

"It's going to be interesting trying to get her into a good foster home," Black Widow commented.

"No need," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to adopt her."

"Steve, are you crazy?" Black Widow asked.

"Probably. But the devious little thing has wormed her way into my heart," I replied, walking out of the room. There'd be a hell of a lot of paperwork tomorrow, but for tonight I was happy. Nights would be staying. _Parenting can't be too hard, right?_ I thought as I walked to the car.

 **I go to bed at night and dream of waking up to an inbox filled with notifications of reviews. You can make my dream a reality. Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

"So what next?" I asked, my hand on Nights' back as we walked out of the courthouse where I had just signed the adoption papers.

"As much as I hate to say it, probably the mall. I only have the clothes on my back," Nights replied, a pained expression on her face.

"Mall it is," I said, as we climbed aboard my bike. I held out the helmet for Nights. _I should really get a car,_ I thought as we merged into traffic. I had never seen the danger of riding a motorcycle before, courtesy of the serum, but now that I was carrying Nights on the back of it I was smacked in the face with how perilous it could be.

 _I'll talk to Tony tomorrow_. Sure, Tony may only know about ridiculously expensive sports cars but maybe he could at least give me some tips on what to look for, engine and gas mileage-wise. We stopped at a red light and I looked back at Nights to see how she was doing.

Her facial expression was a mix of excitement and enjoyment. I turned back to the light, which had turned green. _Definitely need to keep an eye on Nights in future._ It was quickly becoming apparent that Nights was a not-so closet adrenaline junkie.

Of course she was kind of in the closet about a lot of stuff. Especially, that little incident at the hospital. I still hadn't gotten any more out of her about how she did that then "Spy's kid". While I didn't doubt Phil had taught her some stuff, I doubted that even Phil knew enough to take out that many hostiles by himself, especially since it had become clear during questioning that they were more than a little trained in how to kill someone.

I suspected that it had something to do with the virtual reality training thing that Nights had been stuck in. Though trying to get Nights to talk about anything having to do with the time she was stuck in there was like trying to walk through hell with a snowball. Luckily, trying to find about her life before Phil adopted her was much easier.

Apparently, Nights was the daughter of one of Chicago's best detectives. One night, the drug lord he was tracking down sent a crony to take care of him. The man broke into the house and shot Nights' mother and father in their bed.

The shots woke up Nights' two older brothers, who then tried to take down the man, both getting shot in the process. Nights had snuck up behind the man and when her brothers went down she jumped up and grabbed him around the neck with her legs, beginning to choke him. The man began shooting wildly, hitting her in the chest and shoulder.

She dropped him to the floor, and wrestled the gun out of his hand before shooting him in the stomach, paralyzing him. When the authorities showed up they found her sitting in a pool of blood, holding QuikClot gauze both to her injuries and that of the man she had shot. They were the only two left alive.

They both had a change of heart that night. The crony went on to testify against the drug lord, landing him and his entire ring in jail. Nights went on to be found by Fury and adopted by Phil. We stopped at another red light and I used the rearview mirror to look at the girl behind me.

Natasha said that Nights had been much colder and quieter before the virtual reality incident, keeping all her pain inside and sporting a tough exterior. She still had the tough exterior and she still kept her pain inside, that much I could see. But her being cold and quiet? Nope, couldn't see it.

 _Hiding it all behind a smile isn't much of an improvement though,_ I thought, giving the bike gas as the light turned green. _I need to get her to open up more._ A few minutes later, we arrived at the mall.

"Any idea what store to start in?" I asked as we got off the bike.

"No idea. Guess we'll just start at one end and work to the next. In retrospect though, the PX would've been a better idea," Nights said, making her way to the entrance.

"PX?" I asked.

"Postal Exchange?" Nights tried.

"Oh right," I said. She rolled her eyes playfully. We reached the door just as a woman with her arms filled with bags reached for the door on the other side.

I moved a little faster and grabbed the handle, opening it for her. "I can get it myself," she snapped.

"I have no doubt ma'am and I meant no disrespect. But no one, man or woman, should have to get the door when their hands are that full," I said. She huffed before walking off.

"What's up her ass?" Nights asked.

"Language," I admonished.

"Seriously though! You'd think she'd be a little nicer," she said. "I mean you, a perfect stranger, took time out of your busy day to do something nice for her. A little gratitude wouldn't go amiss."

"I didn't do it to be thanked, or to be owed gratitude. I did it to be kind and show respect."

"True, but selflessness deserves to be acknowledged," Nights said.

"A lot of things people do deserve to be acknowledged. Opening a door for someone with their arms full doesn't make it very high on the list."

"But it's on the list nonetheless. And maybe, if bitches like her stopped being so mean about it, people like my brothers wouldn't have been so scared to do it."

"True," I said.

"Which is why they made sure to do it anyway," she said, a devious grin on her face.

"Brave boys," I said.

"Fearless," she corrected. I smiled. That was the longest conversation we had had on anyone in Nights' family.

I snuck a look over at her. She had a sad smile on her face, her arms clasped behind her back as we walked. She had had that same smile on her face when we told her Coulson was dead.

She had already known, she had told us. She had suspected it when she woke up in a public hospital and not a SHIELD medical facility and known when two weeks had passed and Phil hadn't visited. I reached over and ruffled her hair.

"Hey!" she complained.

"Any idea which store yet?" I asked.

"Uh… This one?" she said, pointing to a department store. We walked inside and Nights immediately baulked at the selection. I paused.

"You know what to look for?" I asked.

"No clue," she practically whispered.

"Right," I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my cell phone. I unlocked it and looked through my contacts, eventually finding the right one and hitting it.

"Hello?" she answered on the first ring.

"Please tell me you know something about shopping," I said. Natasha sighed.

"Be there in ten minutes."

True to her word, ten minutes later Natasha was walking through the department store towards us. "This way," she said, grabbing Nights hand. She dragged her over to a section called "Juniors" and began sorting through the racks.

"Here, here and here," she said, handing her several shirts from that section before moving to the next and loading her with even more. At last she dropped a dress on top of the pile and shoved her in the direction of the "Fitting Rooms".

"You have no idea how to raise a teenage girl, do you?" Natasha asked as we waited outside.

"Not a clue," I admitted. Nights came out wearing a pair of ripped up jeans and a low cut top that barely reached the top of the ragged pants. Natasha nodded her head in approval.

I looked over at her and then back at Nights. "Absolutely not," I said. She nodded before going back into the dressing room. Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"She looked like a streetwalker!" I exclaimed. Natasha shrugged.

"It'd give her a tactical advantage," she said.

"I'd rather her clothes earn her respect."

Nights came out a few minutes later in shorts that just barely covered her rear and a shirt that showed her stomach. "No," I said, not missing the scars that covered her stomach and legs. Nights nodded and went back.

"Why are there scars on her stomach and legs?" I asked Nat. She shrugged.

"You get a lot of scars in training," she brushed it off. Night came out a in a just above knee-length black skirt with suspenders and a red, no-sleeve turtle neck. I grimaced. It was a lot better but even still.

"Steve. It's not going to get much better," Natasha said. I sighed.

"Fine," I consented. Nights went back in and came out, each time her outfit a little better or just as close to making me grimace. Finally, we left the fitting rooms with three skirts, two pairs of jeans, a pair of slacks, seven shirts and three dresses that I actually liked. Natasha called them retro style. I didn't care, it was nice that Nights was wearing something I actually approved of.

Nights, being Nights, also got two onesies. Which I also approved of completely. We made our way to the shoe aisle where we discovered that Nights had an obsession with ridiculously high heels that made me worry she was going to sprain her ankle. She got three pairs that were over five inches, a pair of tennis shoes that Natasha said she would need and a pair of sandals that I talked her into.

"Okay, we're going to go get some other stuff she needs. Meet us in the food court?" Natasha said.

"Um, okay?" I said.

"Great, be back soon," she said, walking off with Nights. I sighed, rubbing a hand through my hand as I sat on the edge of a fountain.

I pulled out my phone and checked my messages. It had taken forever to figure the damn thing out but I had finally managed it, finding out that it was quite useful in the process. Now though I was waiting for possible updates on Bucky's location. So far nothing.

I sighed and put my phone away. I lifted my head and looked around the area I was in again, this time enjoying the mall and not just analyzing the room. It had a nice atrium with a lot of plants in it, giving it kind of a greenhouse feel.

My phone rang. I reached into my pocket and pulled it out, answering it. "Hello?" I said, forgetting to check the caller ID.

"Steve, get over here," Natasha's voice said.

"What's going on?" I asked, climbing the escalator as fast as I could.

"I have no idea. She just dropped and now she's shuddering on the floor."

"Where are you guys?" I asked, trying to decide whether to go right or left at a split.

"Victoria's secret," Natasha replied.

"What the hell are you guys doing in there?" I demanded, making the appropriate turn.

"A girl needs underwear Steve," Natasha said.

"How is she?" I demanded.

"She's shuddering. It seems like a panic attack but not. I'm not sure what's going on. I've left her on the floor since I don't want to move her in case it's something else. I'm doing the correct medical checks now."

"Is her nose or anything else bleeding?" I asked. Nights' doctor had been militant in telling me that should Nights' nose or anything else start bleeding without explanation I should quickly get to the hospital.

"No," Natasha said. _It's not the radiation then,_ I thought, finally running through the doors of the store. I found Natasha kneeling by Nights on the floor in the back by the dressing room.

"The medical checks?" I asked, sliding beside her.

"She's hyperventilating but other than that, nothing seems like it's wrong."

"Nights? Nights can you hear me?!" I demanded. She didn't respond, just kept muttering.

"What is she muttering?" I asked.

"I have no idea."

"NIGHTS!" I yelled. Her eyes snapped open with a gasp. She bolted up so fast she almost smacked her forehead against mine.

"Nights?" Natasha asked. Nights put a hand to her head.

"I'm fine," she said, going to stand. I grabbed her hand and pulled her back down.

"Oh no you don't. You stay down until we clear you. Now what happened?" I asked her.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. I can stand now," Nights insisted.

"Nights," I scolded. She turned on me, her piercing silver eyes filled with to the brim with pain, terror and murder. They made me lean back, trying to get away from her.

"I. Am. Fine," she said, verbally punctuating her words. She stood up, slowly and uneasily.

"Fine. But we're going home now and I'm carrying you," I said. She sighed.

"Fine," she growled. I picked her up, holding her against my chest as we walked out of the store. Natasha followed behind with the bags.

Nights was light. Even by serum standards, she should've weighed more. She had looked like she was putting on more weight but it was apparent she still had a lot of weight still to gain.

"Nat, can we borrow your car?" I asked as we walked through the parking lot.

"Of course," she said, moving in front to lead the way. I felt Nights curl farther into my chest, the chilly night air nipping at her. Her even breathing indicated that she had fallen asleep.

We reached Natasha's car and I slipped Nights' carefully into the passenger seat so as not to wake her up. I shut the door and turned to Natasha. "You don't know what to do, do you?" she asked.

"No idea," I confirmed. She nodded.

"You know you can call any of us anytime right?" she said. I nodded. She smiled that knowing smile.

"See you tomorrow," she said, touching me lightly on the arm. I nodded again. I rubbed a hand through my hair as I made my way to the driver's side. I didn't have a clue what I was doing, I decided.

 **Yeah, not really sure how this got to be so long. Oh well. Hope you like! And remember, I love all my readers! But especially the ones who review ;-)**


	6. Chapter 6

**So, before I let you read the new chapter I posted, Imma do a little self promoting here. I have two other FanFictions up, both in different Fandoms, if you like my stuff, feel free to read and review those. The updates for those aren't very regular since this one gets a lot more traffic than they do so I can't really justify taking time off this to update those as much, but they are being updated when I can. If you can't wait the twenty four hours that it takes me to update this one, you might consider reading those in between. Okay, shameless self promoting over, onto the story! We have an early update today!**

"No."

I sighed. "Yes."

"Nyet."

"Yes."

"Nein!"

"No matter how many times and in how many different languages you say it, the answer is going to remain the same. You are going to school."

"But Steve!" Nights whined.

"No buts. Get in there," I said. We were waiting outside Parks View Middle School where Nights was attending school. At, where she would be attending school, once she got out of the car.

"You could've at least put me in a High School! I'm almost seventeen, not almost fifteen!" she complained.

"The last grade you completed was seventh. That means that, however old you are now, you should be attending eighth. Besides, the doctor said you didn't age while you were comatose. So, according to everything except your head, you are fourteen and attending eighth grade," I explained.

"I know more than anyone else in there already, I can guarantee it!"

"A person can't learn everything they need to know about life from mission reports Nights," I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose. She hadn't stopped all morning.

"1) I never said anything about mission reports, 2) It depends on the mission report. Phil's yes you could've. Clint's forget it!" she said, crossing her arms and settling into her seat.

"Wait, Phil was more precise in his mission reports then Clint? I thought Clint was precise about everything."

"Clint is precise and OCD about everything that doesn't have any kind of connection to mission debriefings. Once you get to those, or any of the paperwork having to do with those, he's terrible. I literally read five of his mission reports and they were about five words each. Phil on the other hand filled it out like he was writing a direction manual. He had enemy positions, shapes of the room, where the lighting was, everything. You could learn everything you needed to know from those mission reports."

"Huh, that's interesting," I said, looking forward, watching the various preteens as they made their way into the school. A few seconds later, a small movement appeared in the corner of my eye.

"Oh no you don't!" I said, grabbing Nights' hand. I had learned yesterday, at a rather unfortunate event at Barnes and Noble, that Nights had the ability to temporarily paralyze someone. She had used it to make sure we stayed in the bookstore for several hours. Luckily, I was late for a meeting and they sent Clint to come and find me. He had laughed the entire way back to the compound before finally telling me how to avoid it the next time Nights tried it.

"Steve!" she whined again.

"Enough whining. You need to go to school so you can be educated," I said.

"I could learn more playing poker in a bar then I can here!" she stated.

"I said you need to be educated, not that you need to learn. There's a difference."

"Sure they'll educate me alright! We're looking at eight hours of Marxist agendas and ideologies being implanted in my brain!" she cried.

"American schools aren't communist. I rolled my eyes. I still had a grip on her wrist and she was trying to pull her hand out. She wasn't getting very far.

"I said Marxist not communist! There's a difference!" She put both feet on my torso in a continued attempt to free herself.

"Then wouldn't it be your duty to go in there and insure that innocents aren't subjected to brainwashing?" I asked. She stopped tugging.

"How would I do that? By being a smartass? Am I getting permission to do that?" she asked.

"You can have permission to do anything that is not unethical or illegal, so long as you stop fighting me and go in now. But make sure you don't end up in the principal's office," I pleaded. She sat, her expression thoughtful for a moment.

"Fine," she finally conceded. "But only to help the poor civilians, whose idiotic parents haven't done enough research to realize that their kids are being groomed to become the next Hitler or Castro."

She grabbed her satchel and exited the car. "Have a nice day!" I called after her in relief. She raised a hand, her forefinger and thumb touching to make an "O".

I frowned. Banner said that was a serious insult somewhere in South America. _At least she finally went,_ I thought, pulling into traffic.

I still had Natasha's car. It had been a week since that incident at the mall and, so far, there was no new information on what had truly happened with Nights and there, thankfully, hadn't been any sign of a repeat performance. I was on my way to the compound with the intentions of returning the car, talking to Tony about getting one of my own and finding out if there was any new information on Bucky.

He still hadn't been seen or heard from since the last incident, though we sure were looking. Originally, I would've liked to have gone and looked for him as soon as I got out of the hospital, but now that I had Nights I was taking a less proactive approach by using the computers and stuff to look for him. _I wonder how Nights is doing now,_ I thought.

I checked the clock. It was eight in the morning, her homeroom should've just started. _I hope she doesn't get into trouble,_ I thought as I walked up the steps to the compound.

 _I hope she can make friends too._ I walked into the main rec area of the compound. "Hey, there he is!" Clint said as I walked in. He was sitting on a bar stool waxing his bow string.

"What took you?" Sam asked from his place against the counter. He had his arms crossed over his chest and, judging by his close proximity to the coffee pot, was waiting for it to finish brewing.

"Rough morning," I sighed. "Is the coffee almost done?" He nodded.

"Oh, Nights didn't want to go to school did she?" Clint asked as the coffee maker beeped.

"She put up a fight the whole way," I replied, taking the cup of coffee Sam offered me.

"From what I remember, she's pretty good at that," Clint commented.

"She's gotten better," Natasha called from her place on the couch. She was watching some kind of soap opera.

"Really? Clint said.

"You don't know the half of it," Sam told Clint, taking a sip of his coffee. I sighed, rubbing hand on the back of my neck.

"You think she'll be okay at school?" I asked.

"I doubt there's anything that that school can throw at her that she can't handle," Sam said.

"But will she make friends?"

"She's pretty likeable Steve. I think she'll have a lot of friends in no time," Nat comforted.

"But what if bullies pick on her?"

"You should be more concerned about her picking on the bullies," Clint joked.

"You don't think she'll get hurt in a fight, do you?" I asked.

"If I were you, I'd be more concerned about her hurting other people in a fight!" Clint laughed.

"Yo, she does know to go easy on civilians, right?" Sam asked. I looked at Natasha who looked at Clint.

"Phil did teach her that, didn't he?" she asked Clint.

"It seems like something he'd teach her," he replied.

"But did he?" I asked.

"I don't know," Clint said, suddenly looking a lot less jovial and a lot more concerned.

"Clint doesn't know what?" Tony asked, walking into the room.

"Did Phil ever teach Nights to go easy on civilians and not kill them?" Natasha asked him.

"I don't know. Who's Nights?" he asked, grabbing an apple and taking a bite.

"Steve's kid," Sam said that the same time Clint and Natasha said "Phil's daughter."

"Wait, is she Phil's or Steve's?" Tony asked.

"Nights was Phil's daughter and then I adopted her," I said.

"Phil had a kid? And when did you adopt a little girl?" Tony asked, pointing with his apple.

"Where have you been all week?" Clint asked.

"Milan. There was a car deal thing I was working," Tony said. "Phil had a daughter?"

"The little agent that you were constantly picking on, with the long braid and the cold demeanor?" Natasha clarified.

"Wait, Shorty? She was Phil's kid? I didn't know that," Tony said.

"That's beside the point. Do you know if Phil ever taught her to go easy on civilians?" I asked.

"I have no idea. Why?" he asked, taking another bite out of his apple.

"Because it's her first day of school and Steve is worried she's going to get into a fight and kill someone," Clint said.

"She wouldn't kill someone, would she?"

"Kill or murder?" Sam asked.

"Both are a distinct possibility," Clint said.

"Wait, it's Tiny's first day of school? No wonder Steve is wearing a hole in my floor," Tony said. I stopped pacing.

"Guys, come on. You're not being helpful. Does she know not to hurt a civilian, or does she not?"

"No idea," everyone replied at once. I sighed.

"Great. Out of all the things I checked this morning, that probably should've been one of the first."

"Probably," Clint agreed.

"Did you check to make sure she had her lunch?" Natasha asked.

"Yes."

"Pencils?" Sam queried.

"Yep."

"Calculator?" Tony tried.

"What's a calculator?" I asked. My phone rang. I reached into my pocket and pulled it out, the caller ID saying it was Parks View Middle School.

"Shit, it's the school," I said, answering it. "Hello?"

"Hello Mr. Rogers, this is Principal Cleaton from Park View Middle School. I'm calling about your daughter, Nights?" the man said.

I looked up at the expectant faces of my team mates. "Yes, is she okay?" I demanded.

"I'm afraid there was a little accident," the man said. I bolted for the door, the sound of three sets of footfalls following me.

"What happened?" I demanded, pulling the keys out of my pocket and jamming them into the lock, entering the car.

"Well, you see…" the man started.

"Never mind, just tell me where she is," I said, putting the keys in the ignition as Sam, Natasha and Clint climbed into the car.

"She's at Grover's Memorial Hospital," he said.

"I'll be there soon," I said, stepping on the gas.

"Where is she?" Natasha asked from the passenger seat.

"The hospital."

"Oh no," Sam said from the back.

"Any idea why?" Clint asked, leaning forward from his place behind me.

"We're about to find out," I said, punching it.

 **Early update and a cliffhanger that is. Hehe, I am so evil! So you can sit on this for the next twenty four hours or so, while I update my other fics and stuff, or you can actually go read the other fics by checking my profile for their names. Don't forget to read and review my pretties! Now, I better go make dinner before I get in trouble and before you all get tired of my incessant rambling and self-promoting. Tschuss luvs!**


	7. Chapter 7

**For any parties interested in what I made for dinner yesterday, it was wiernerwurst. And no, I do not mean vienna sausages. One you find in a can and it tastes disgusting, the other is basically a German hotdog that tastes like heaven. I'm talking about hte latter of course. Yummy! (If there's anyone in Germany who can correct me on this if I got it wrong, please do! Leave a review!)**

"You're not serious."

"This can't be happening."

"I don't believe it."

I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "What really happened?" I asked. I was scared for the answer.

Nights glared at the three people behind me as she held an ice pack to her broken nose before turning to me. "I slipped gettind opf da gym mat and fell ob by dace," she said. Clint burst out laughing.

"You could've at least broken it in a fight!" he said. Nights glared, murder on her face. Sam rolled his eyes.

"First time breakind sombdind and dit's because I did sombdind stupd," Nights grumbled.

"It's your first time breaking something?" Natasha asked.

"Really? I'd have thought a bruiser like you would've broken plenty by now," Clint commented.

"Sub of ud are carefub wid tings like our bodies," Night retorted.

"You do only get one," Sam said. I sighed.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Nights nodded. "Doc?" I asked.

"It's a clean break Mr. Rogers. It should heal quickly, though there's going to be quite a bit of swelling for a little while," the man said.

"Can she go home?" I asked.

"Sure thing," the doctor said with a smile.

"Okay. Let's go Nights. Want me to carry you?" I asked.

"I cand walk," she said, popping off the table, the ice pack still not moving from its place on her nose.

"You want to get some ice cream on the way home?" I asked.

"I doubd I'd be adle to daste id," she complained.

"School really wasn't a good idea today, was it?" Clint said. I threw him a glare.

"Why are all ob dou here anydway?" Nights demanded.

"Steve was at the compound when he got the message. He tore out of there like a bat outta hell and we followed. Thought you had gotten yourself killed or something," Clint replied.

"It not like that," I said as we walked out.

"It kind of was," Natasha commented.

"Dat woud explaind Dony's calb," Nights said.

"Tony called?" Sam asked. She nodded.

"Lazy bastard."

"Do you want to go straight home or do you mind if we stop by the compound Nights?"

"I dond mind ib we go to da combound," she said.

"Alright. We'll make it quick though. You probably want to get home, so we'll just drop these guys off and then go home. Sound good?"

Nights nodded. "Great." We reached the car and got in, Nights wedged in the back between Sam and Clint.

"Dang girl, you have broad shoulders," Sam said when he noticed how little space there was.

"Sorby," she said.

"Broad shoulders are a good thing. Especially in our line of work," Clint said, slinging his arm around Nights' shoulders.

"Our line, not Nights' line," I said clarified as I merged into traffic.

"What do you mean not Nights' line? She's going to be training to join us, isn't she?" Clint asked.

"Absolutely not," I said.

"Ob course dot. I alreaby know alb I deed to dow," Night complained.

"Right, you took out an entire hospital room full of bad guys didn't you?" Clint asked. "While still at half power."

Nights had quickly improved with her physical abilities since that incident. None of the physical therapists could explain why, but she was now moving just as quick and easy as any other person. "She's not going into our line of work," I reasserted.

"Cand bwe discusd dis lader?" she asked.

"There is no discussion. You're not going into this line of work," I said, looking at her with a stern expression in the rearview mirror.

"Steve, you can't exactly do that. She's already been trained to think like we do and, if what happened at the hospital is any indication, she's got more than what it takes to go the rest of the way. At this point, normalcy isn't going to be possible for her," Natasha advocated. I glared.

"Lader peodle," Nights pleaded.

"Fine. But my answer remains the same," I said. My phone rang and I dug into my pocket to answer it. Caller ID said Tony.

"Yo sparkles, there are some computers here going crazy with notifications. You got something to do with that?" he asked. I turned to look at Natasha.

"I had a check going for CCTV cameras all over the world. They were looking for Bucky so if they're going off they must've found something," she said.

"We'll be right there," I told Tony.

"Got it. Oh, and by the way, I figured, since you're notoriously responsible and all that good stuff, that now that you've got a kid, you're probably going to need something other than the motorcycle as your primary means of transportation, so I had the experimental model that we're working on at Stark Labs delivered to your apartment. Consider it an extended test," he said.

"Got it. Thank you Tony," I said.

"Hey don't thank me. I'm just making sure that Princess there doesn't get killed. She's accident prone enough _before_ she gets on anything dangerous. Besides, the Model X needed testing anyways."

"Understood. Be there soon."

"I ondly ged hurd whend I do norbal duff," Nights protested.

"Never hurts to play it safe," I said. We reached the compound and walked in.

"Feel like a spar Nights?" Clint said.

"Shure!" Nights said, following him to the training room.

"Nice nose Shorty!" Tony called after them. Nights replied by giving him her signature "O" shaped insulting hand gesture.

"She's cute," he said.

"What do we have?" I asked.

"He's in California," Natasha said. "Looks like he's going to be stuck there for a bit too."

"Got it. Natasha, can you and Clint watch Nights for a little bit?"

"Of course," Natasha replied.

"Okay. I'm going to go get him," I said, making my way to the door. I heard footsteps behind me and turned.

"You didn't think I'd let you go alone, did you?" Sam asked.

"You sure?" I asked.

"Let's go get him," he said.

"Go ged who?" a stuffed up voice asked.

"Me and Sam are going to go find Bucky. You are going to stay here with Clint and Natasha and go to school," I told Nights. She scowled.

"No roob bor argumend?" she asked.

"None," I said, kissing her on the forehead. "Keep an eye on her," I told Clint.

"You got it," he replied, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"See you soon," I told her. She nodded. I should've felt fine walking away from Nights, but all I could feel was worry. Hopefully, nothing would happen while I was gone.

 _Which, considering her and the way things have gone till now, definitely isn't going to happen,_ I thought.

 **So crisis averted! Went to the library today and got Age of Ultron so possible short hiatus averted! yay! Which of course means that I can now write another cliffhanger and threaten to hold the next chapter hostage until I get a review! Bwahahaha! But I don't want to do that. So please, leave a review. Otherwise, the FanFic gets it!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Is this it?" Sam asked as we got out of the car. We were in front of an old rundown machine shop.

"Guess so," I said.

"Great. What's the plan?"

"Go in carefully. Just like if there were hostiles in there. Hopefully, we'll be able to talk to him and not make him want to run. And hopefully, there won't be any fight," I said.

"Yeah, right. Like that's going to happen." I smiled sarcastically.

"A guy can hope," I said.

"Just so long as you don't hope to much."

"True. Let's go," I said. We approached the building slowly, keeping an eye on all sides. When we reached the door, I counted on my fingers and on three we entered the building.

At first, we didn't see anything. The place was obviously abandoned and had been for years. We slowly walked through, keeping our eyes open.

We reached a hallway, one way going right, the other left. I motioned for Sam to go to the right. He nodded and went, me going to the left.

I continued quietly for a few minutes, not seeing anything in particular. I ended up in a filing room, a couple of black filing cabinets lining one wall. "Cap, you're gonna want to come over here," Sam said.

I turned and quickly made my way down the hall to where Sam was. I opened a door and entered the main garage of the place. Some beat up equipment lined the walls and a broken down car was in one corner. And in the middle of it all was Bucky, out of breath and sweaty with his hair in his eyes.

"What do you want to do?" Sam asked when I got closer.

"Bucky, do you remember who I am?" I asked. Bucky remained still, with the exception of his labored breathing which made his chest rise and fall.

"You're Steve," he said, finally.

"That's right. Do you remember how you know me?" I asked.

"You're my best friend," he said. "You're with me to the end of the line." He smiled sadly.

"That's right Buck. I'm with you to the end of the line." He nodded.

"Come on now. We're going home," I said.

"I can't Steve," he replied.

"Why not?"

"I just can't," he said, standing up.

"I'm not letting you leave Bucky," I stated. He looked at me.

"Yes, you are," he replied. He moved to the door but Sam stepped in front of it.

"If he's not letting you go, I'm not either," he said, crossing his arms.

"Move aside," Bucky commanded.

"He's not moving Bucky and neither are you. Come on now, we can help you," I said.

"No, you can't, Steve. You can't fix it."

"At least let me try," I called.

"Let me go, Steve," Bucky said.

"No, Bucky. I can't do that." Bucky turned his attention back to Sam.

"Move," he said. Sam just shook his head.

"Tell your friend to move or I'm going to make him."

"No, you aren't. Now come on Bucky. Come back with us. We can fix this," I argued. Bucky turned, eyes flashing.

"No, you can't. Now let me go or I'm going to hurt you Steve," he said.

"Then you're going to have to hurt me," I replied, straightening up. Bucky didn't say anything, just charged.

"Cap!" Sam cried as Bucky moved to connect his fist with my face.

"Drop!" another voice yelled. I did as the second voice said, dropping to the ground and flattening myself. I raised my head to see a small figure drop onto the floor and raise a familiar looking shield.

A loud "CLANG!" filled the shop as Bucky's fist connected with the metal of the shield, sending the figure skidding backwards. The figure jumped, tucking into a ball and flipping backwards, over me. I stood up quickly, blocking the blows that Bucky aimed at me, punching him in the stomach at the first opening and sending him skidding back.

The voice called out again. "Take a knee!" it said. I did as I was told, falling to one knee and dropping my chest until my hands rested on the floor. A foot stepped onto my flattened back and pushed off.

I jerked my head up, watching as the figure flew through the air, smacking into Bucky with her entire body weight, leading shield first, and knocking him over. She straightened, falling onto the shield and rolling before quickly changing direction and hurtling herself straight to where Bucky was, landing on top of him, shield held at the perfect angle to decapitate him. She pulled a knife out of her pocket and pressed the point where Bucky's metal arm connected to the rest of his body.

"One move and it's going to be _very_ painful for you," Nights said.

"Who the hell are you?" Bucky asked.

"A better question is what the hell are you doing here Nights?" I said.

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to be back at the compound with Natasha and Clint?" Sam said.

"Since when have I done what I'm supposed to do?" she retorted. "Besides, I knew Steve would try and talk to Bucky and I think we all know now that that wasn't a good idea. So, I decided to tag alone."

"Steve, who is this?" Bucky asked, from where he was pinned under Nights, his voice slightly muffled by the pavement.

"Oh, sorry, I haven't introduced myself. Nights Rogers at your service," she said, shaking the hand connected to the arm she wasn't currently holding a knife on.

"Bucky Barnes. Rogers? Does that mean you're Steve's kid?" Bucky asked.

"Yup," she said.

"Steve, when did you have a kid?"

"I didn't have a kid," I said.

"Dude, you know Steve better than anyone. Do you really think he'd be able to get and keep a girl long enough to have a kid? You're the ladies man, not him," Night stated.

"True," Bucky said.

"Hey!" I complained.

"Can it Steve. You know it's true," Nights said. She turned back to Bucky.

"He adopted me not too long ago because of my perfectly fabulous abilities. They're quite amazing, wouldn't you agree?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," he said.

"Smart man. Now, normally I'd kill you for trying to hurt Steve and threatening to hurt Sam but, considering how many times you've saved Steve's ass in the past and the fact that you didn't kill him last time, I won't. Unless you give me reason to."

"Uh, thanks?"

"But seriously, won't you come home?" she asked. Bucky sighed.

"I can't," he said.

"Do they still haunt you?"

He turned his head harder to look up at her. "What?" he asked.

"The people you've killed. They still haunt you don't they? When you let your guard down, when you're not moving, when you close your eyes at night. They're there, aren't they?" Nights asked, her tone somber.

Bucky nodded. Nights sighed. "You're running from them." It was more a statement then a question. Bucky replied with another nod.

"Okay," she said gently, taking her knife away and rising, taking the shield away from his neck. She reached down a hand and helped him up, turning handing him his backpack, which had fallen to the floor.

"Go. I'd suggest Europe, all of the tourist destinations and stuff, where there's lots of people and stuff," she said. Bucky nodded.

"Thank you," he said, turning and walking to the door.

"Let him go Sam," Nights said.

"But-" he started.

"Sam," Nights warned. Sam sighed before standing to the side.

"Hang on! What's going on here?" I demanded. "Bucky isn't going anywhere unless it's with us."

"Steve he needs to go," Nights said.

"Absolutely not!"

"Steve, please. Just trust me on this," she pleaded. I opened my mouth to protest.

"Please, Steve. Listen to her. She's right," Bucky said. The look on his face was pure pain. I held his eyes for a moment, searching. Finally, I sighed.

"Okay. You've got a year and then you better be back though. Otherwise, I'm coming to look for you. And don't get in any trouble either!" I said.

Bucky smiled. "Thank you, Steve," he said.

"I'll always be here for you Bucky. I'm with you till the end of the line," I reminded him.

"I know Steve. Thank you." He turned and walked away. I sighed.

"Heads up," Nights said, tossing me my shield. I caught it as she turned and began to walk towards the exit.

I followed after her, Sam following quietly behind.

"Care to explain what the hell that was about?" I demanded when we were back outside.

"You wouldn't understand Steve," she said.

"Then why can you?"

"Because, I've been there. It's not pretty," she said, stopping and looking at the ground, her hands in her pockets.

"What do you mean you've been there? Why isn't it pretty?" I demanded.

"It's a long story Steve."

"Try," I commanded. She sighed, looking up at me.

"When you kill someone it stays with you. You can either choose to bury it completely or you can be human, in which case you can't ever forget. Bucky is human, the people he killed while under Hydra's thumb are coming back to haunt him. Their voices are in his head, snatching at him every opening they get.

"You have to learn to live with the voices. You have to learn how to quiet them. And you have to learn to silence the loudest voice of them all, your own guilt. You have to learn to live with it all.

"That's what Bucky's trying to do now. He's trying to live with the voices in his head, to find forgiveness, all while trying to find out who he is. He can't have help with it, it's something he has to do for himself. That's why he can't come back yet," Nights said.

"Why can't he do that with us?" I asked. Nights smiled sadly, looking up to the sky.

"In order to understand that, you have to experience it yourself. Be thankful you don't understand Steve. Pray that you never do."

"Should we be concerned that you're so well versed in this subject?" Sam asked. Nights' smile turned slightly less sad.

"Once, maybe. But not now." Sam nodded. I sighed.

"Does this have to do with the virtual reality and all that?" I asked. Nights nodded.

"One day, we are going to sit down and you're going to tell me all about that," I said.

"One day," Nights agreed.

"Let's go. We've got a long way back home," I said, walking to the truck. Sam followed, Nights staying behind.

I reached the truck and opened it, turning back to call out to Nights who hadn't moved from where she was. "You coming?" I asked. She reached up and placed her fingers under her nose, pulling them away and looking at them.

 _Oh no,_ I thought. She turned to look at me, the evening light catching the red trails coming from her nose and eyes, making them shine. "Steve?" she called, before collapsing.

"NIGHTS!" I yelled, running towards her.

"Shit!" I heard Sam say beside me as he followed my lead. We slid to where Nights was laying, her eyes closed, red trails of blood leaking from the inside corners. Now that we were closer, I could see blood was coming not only from her eyes and nose but also her ears.

"What's going on?" Sam demanded. "Why is she bleeding like this? It shouldn't be possible for this to happen, right?" he said.

 _"Just make sure her nose or anything else doesn't start randomly bleeding. If that does happen, get her to the hospital immediately. It's a large indication that the radiation did more damage than originally suspected and it could be extremely dangerous,"_ the doctor's words rang in my ears.

"The radiation is getting to her. We need to get her to a hospital, NOW!" I said, lifting her into my arms and running towards the truck.

"Don't you dare die on me," I said. Nights groaned. "I'll take that as a 'Yes sir," I said, handing her into the car to Sam and then climbing in myself.

 **Tada! Update. I am literally so tired right now. I have got to figure out another update schedule. This staying up till eleven every night to update is killing my sleep. Okay, done being a sissy priss. Hope you enjoyed it, and just so you know, the review button is directly below. In case you missed it. Or couldn't find it. Just leave a review already please!**


	9. Chapter 9

"How is she?" I asked, taking my eyes off the road briefly to look in the back where Sam had Nights' head in his lap.

"Getting worse. She's really getting pale now," Sam said. I swore.

"Hang on Nights, hospital's not too far away now," I called back. She groaned. I checked back again, registering her loss of color.

 _Dear God, if you're up there please don't let her die,_ I silently prayed, stepping harder on the gas. "How much farther?" Sam asked.

"Two miles," I said, passing a truck on the highway. "Make that one."

"Good."

We finally reached the hospital parking lot. I pulled the truck up to the entrance and jumped out, running around to the back and opening the door. "Hand her here!"

Sam placed Nights in my arms. She was white as a ghost, trails of blood trailing from her eyes, nose and ears. "Dear God!" I said.

I turned, running into the hospital. "Somebody help!" I cried. "Please, someone!"

A doctor ran up. "What's going on?" he asked.

"She's bleeding. She was exposed to a lot of radiation not too long ago and her doctor said if something like this happened it was really bad. She's been bleeding for an hour," I said.

"Okay, somebody get me a gurney! Let's go people!" the doctor yelled. They got a bed and I laid her on it. "Let's get her into a room!" the doctor said, rolling the bed away.

Nights started writhing on the bed. "Never mind, let's get her to a CT scan, STAT!" he yelled. Doctors and nurses surrounded the bed as they ran her down the hallway. I made to follow but was stopped by a nurse.

"I'm going to have to ask you to stay here sir," she said.

"Please, she needs me," I pleaded.

"Don't worry, they're going to take good care of her," the nurse comforted, leading me to a chair and making me sit down. She handed me a clipboard and a pen.

"If you could fill this out while you wait?" she asked.

"But-" I said.

"It'll take your mind off things," she stated, placing it in my hands before walking away. I sighed and rubbed a hand over my face, before trying to concentrate on the task in front of me.

"Where'd they take her?" Sam asked, sitting down beside me. I assumed he had been outside parking the car.

"CT scan. Oh God, please don't let her die," I said, letting the clipboard drop as I put my head in my hands. I started shaking, trying to keep from breaking down.

"Hey, we don't know that it's all that bad. It could just be a little episode. Now come on, it's going to be alright. That little devil is probably going to stop bleeding from all the holes in her head as randomly as she started and then she's going to give all those doctors and nurses in there hell, before walking out here and demanding why we brought her here," Sam said.

I couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "She would do that, wouldn't she?" I asked.

"You know it. Now come on and fill out this damn paperwork. Might as well get it over with and the sooner, the better," Sam said, handing the clipboard back to me. I took it.

"What's her middle name?" I asked. Sam blinked.

"I have no clue. Don't you?" he said. I shook my head.

"I know her address. Is she allergic to anything?" I asked. Sam just stared blankly.

"Call Natasha," Sam said. I was already reaching into my pocket for my phone. I dialed the number as I walked to the window and stared out into the night.

"How is she?" Natasha asked, answering on the first ring.

"They've taken her in for a CT scan. She was bleeding really bad out of her nose, eyes and ears," I said.

"The radiation?"

"Probably."

"Poor girl," she said.

"Listen, I'm filling out the paperwork and I don't know the answers to half this stuff. Can you pull up her SHIELD file and give me the information?" I asked.

"Okay, what's the first question?" Natasha said.

"What's her middle name?"

"Seriously, Steve? You don't know that?" Natasha teased. "It was on the adoption paperwork."

"I was a little busy when I was signing those," I defended.

"Her middle name is Aurora," Natasha said.

"Nights Aurora Rogers?" I asked.

"Definitely an oxymoron, but you have to admit it's pretty."

"It is pretty." I sighed.

"You okay Steve?" Natasha asked, gently.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I said.

"Okay. What's the next question?"

"Is she allergic to any medications?" I asked.

"No, but she has a history of not being responsive to most anti-inflammatories in most cases and steroids tend to be the only things that really work. Especially with respiratory issues."

"Got it," I said, writing it down.

"What's her previous medical history?" I asked.

"She's had an appendectomy, it appears as though she has an asthma look alike that's never been properly diagnosed, she's had surgery on her right shoulder and lung after being shot, the broken nose, obviously," Natasha rattled off. I scribbled the information in the margin provided, silently swearing at the things Nights had had to endure that I didn't know about.

"Oh man," Natasha said.

"What?" I asked, my head jerking up from the page.

"The virtual reality she was in was apparently used in conjunction with an experimental system that allowed her real body to experience everything that happened while she was inside. Every injury that she received in the training problem, she experienced with her real body. She's been stabbed through the stomach, received close to a thousand stitches overall, been shot six times in various places, five concussions, two cases of tetanus, blood poisoning, malaria, and that's not even getting into the mental issues."

"Good God," I said.

"The poor girl," Natasha said.

"The mental issues?" I asked, afraid to know.

"Severe trauma, two TBIs, severe PTSD, depression, anxiety, ADHD," the list went on, terrifying me anew.

"She's had all this, this entire time?" I asked.

"Well, she's apparently gotten over the depression and anxiety and the trauma and PTSD are under control. Her ADHD is insane though."

"How does SHIELD know all this?" I asked.

"She was released from the virtual reality three days before things started going down. It was enough time for her to be checked by SHIELD specialists before Fury moved her into the regular hospital for safety. Apparently, he was seeing things before he let on."

"Damn," I said.

"Mr. Rogers?" a voice called, I turned and faced the doctor who had come out.

"How is she?" I asked.

"Not good. I've never seen anything like it before. It looks like her brain stem is _melting_ , the doctor said.

"Is she still bleeding?" I asked.

"We haven't found a way to stop it. I'm sorry Mr. Rogers, but there isn't anything we can do," the doctor said.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, walking up.

"I mean that it's unlikely the girl will survive."

I felt my heart stop. The room began to blur, the voices of the doctor and Sam blending out and in.

"Can't anything be done?" I heard Sam ask finally.

"There might be a small chance. Stark Industries has developed a drug for chemotherapy patients that's supposed to counteract the effects of the radiation. But it's still experimental and hasn't left the labs."

"If we got some, would it save Nights?"

"What?" the doctor asked.

"If we got the drug, would it help Nights?" I repeated myself.

The doctor opened his mouth before closing it again. Finally, he sighed. "I don't know," he said.

"There's a slight chance it might work for her, but there's a better chance that it'll only make things worse or do nothing at all. Plus, it'd be impossible to get any."

"Say I did. Would you be able to administer it?" I asked.

"I think so. But Mr. Rogers, it wouldn't stop the damage that's already been done," he said.

"How bad is the damage that's already been done?" Sam asked.

"We can't tell at this point. She's not even awake at the moment."

"It doesn't matter, so long as it saves her. Now, what's the name of the drug?" I asked.

"Permeolycine," the doctor said.

"Got it," I said, walking off. I dialed Tony.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" he complained, answering after the fourth ring.

"I need you to get me a supply permeolycine," I said, not acknowledging his complaint.

"What?" Tony asked.

"I need you to get me a supply permeolycine. The radiation Nights was exposed to is now causing her brain stem to basically melt. The drug that Stark Industries is developing is her only chance."

"The little demon princess is dying?" Tony asked.

"Yes, now are you going to get that medication or not?" I asked.

"I've got a supply here in a safe. I'm going to bring it now," he said, muffled sounds indication that he was getting out of bed.

"You have a supply with you?" I asked.

"Yeah, remember the blue thing that protected my heart? It was seeping radiation, I have to take the permeolycine occasionally and I prefer to have it nearby," he said.

"It works?"

"Well, the radiation Nights was exposed to during that whole virtual reality thing was unique, so it may not work, but in theory it should work," Tony said.

"Just get it here fast," I said.

"I'm on my way. Can you hand the phone to her doctor?" he asked. I walked back over to where the doctor and Sam were, handing the man my phone.

"It's Tony Stark. He's on his way with the medication," I said. The man's eyebrows shot up before he took the phone.

"Hello?" he said. Tony said something and the man nodded, walking back into the restricted area.

"What'd he say?" Sam asked.

"In theory, it should work."

"In theory?" Sam asked.

"Start praying," I said.

"Right."

 **Yeah, yeah, I know. You're tired of the hospitals. But don't worry. We won't be here too long. Maybe, lessee two more chapters (?) here. Then we move on, I promise. But don't skip these! They're going to be important later. If there is a later that is. Hehe. Read and review please people! I feel like it's getting worse and not getting better so please either dash my doubts or confirm them and help me fix them! I want to make sure you're getting quality fluff here! Because, yeah let's face it, this is fluff. Anyway, read, review, tell me how annoying it is that I beg for reviews at the end of every chapter, just say something. Imma go sleep.**


	10. Update!

**Sorry my luvs, but this week is straight up insane for me between Halloween (All Hallow's Eve for some of you), work and school so updates might be a little sporadic. Starting with today's update unfortunately, the essay I wrote for one of my college classes was completely butchered by my mother, so I have to stay up tonight rewriting that instead of the update for this. I may or may not update tomorrow, we shall see what time it is when I get back from trick or treating (Yes, I am still trting. It's free candy people! You're never too old!) and if it isn't too late I'll try to update. In the meantime, please feel free to read my other fics and review them! Reviews are sweeter than candy for me so I'd love a couple. In case I don't see ya, have a safe and fun Halloween, get lots of candy, TP lots of houses, fork a couple lawns and general just have lots of fun! (No illegal stuff though. And don't egg any houses. That's just rude)**


	11. Chapter 10

**Treat or trick, read my fic, give me some reviews to read, if you don't I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear. Just kidding! I won't actually, but I would love some reviews. Even if you're just telling me whether you've heard the non-parody form of that rhyme before. Now, on with the story! And be warned, I got about 7.5 pounds of candy tonight so my writing may be jittery for the next week or so while I have all that sugar in my system. Enjoy!**

I sat holding Nights' hand. Tony had shown up three hours before with the permeolycine and helped the doctor administer it to Nights. So far she was doing well; the bleeding had stopped fifteen minutes after it entered her system and her color was starting to return. She still hadn't woken up though.

"How is she doing?" Tony asked, walking into the room with two cups of coffee. I couldn't help but smirk as I remembered the expression on the doctor's face when Tony walked into the ER in full Iron Man regalia. I took the coffee.

"She seems to be doing fine. She still hasn't woken up yet though," I said.

"The doctor says she's responding really well. The waking up part is in doubt though. Doctor seems to think that the brain damage is too significant for her to manage it," Tony said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"What?!" I demanded.

"Yeah, turns out it wasn't just her brain stem that was effected. Sure, it's what received most of the damage, but there was a significant amount of damage elsewhere. So we're not entirely sure she _is_ going to wake up."

I sat, stupefied. _No, she's going to wake up,_ I tried to tell myself. "Why hasn't the doctor said anything?" I asked.

"We're still not sure. He doesn't want to worry you unnecessarily so he's waiting until we've got some more definite information. But there's a very good chance she's not going to open her eyes again," Tony said, his tone finally showing some sadness.

"She's not going to wake up again?" I asked. Tony sighed.

"I don't know Steve. I don't know. It all depends on how much damage there is. Her brain was practically melting you know," he said.

"But she'll find a way to wake up, won't she? I mean she can't just lay here for the rest of her life. She wouldn't stand for that."

Tony laughed sadly. "She certainly wouldn't like it, but we're not even sure she's conscious enough at this point to notice."

"Isn't there some way to help her wake up, even if her brain is damaged as bad as you say?" I asked. Tony tapped his fingers on his thigh, looking off into space, thinking. He sipped at his coffee before turning back to me.

"I might be able to think of something. But it would probably require surgery and it probably wouldn't be pretty. And there's a chance it'd be really overkill."

"Sounds like you already have something in mind," I said.

"I might. But it'd be really risky and the chances of it actually working without killing her or something are even smaller than the permeolycine's chances were."

"But there's a chance?" I asked.

"Tiny. But hey, this is the devil princess we're talking about here. Knowing her, she'll find a way to wake up at the worst time possible and scare the shit out of all of us. Hell, she's probably about to chuck a pillow at my head and then roll over and tell us to shut up," he said.

We both turned and looked at Nights, silently waiting for the pillow to fly and her voice to fill the room with the "Damn right. Now can it!" that we both prayed was coming. It didn't come. I sighed.

"If she couldn't wake up, would you do it? Would you perform whatever surgery or procedure it is to save her?" I asked.

"If it came to it. But, like I said, it'd be really dangerous," Tony said.

"'Dangerous is just another way of saying "worth it"'," I quoted. Tony smiled.

"One of her sayings?" he asked. I nodded. He clapped me on the shoulder.

"Hang in there Cap. She'll figure something out," he said.

"Thank you," I said.

"No problem. Now, do me a favor, Clint, Natasha, Banner and Sam are all out there wanting to see you two and they sent me to ask if that was okay. They may have also threatened to dismember me if I came back with a "no" so would you mind saying yes?" he asked. I smiled weakly.

"Tell them one at a time," I said.

"Great, I'll go get them," Tony replied, making his way to the door.

"Tony," I called after him. He turned back.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Thank you. For bringing the permeolycine yourself and so quickly. She'd be dead if you hadn't done that."

"I doubt the little demon would allow herself to die in such a tame manner as having her brain liquefy and fall out her nose. But you're welcome!" he said, leaving the room as I chuckled. I turned back to Nights, brushing some of her long hair out of her face.

I kissed her forehead. "It's going to be alright Nights. Like Tony said, as soon as it's completely inconvenient, you're gonna find a way to wake up."

"Ah, Mr. Rogers, I was wondering if I might have a word," the doctor from earlier said.

"Of course," I said, standing up as the man entered the room and shut the door. His expression was grave, his presence oppressive. I could feel my stomach dropping to my shoes before he even opened his mouth.

"Mr. Rogers I'm going to be frank. I'm afraid that the brain damage your daughter has suffered is extremely extensive. While the permeolycine will probably keep her alive with regular doses, I highly doubt she will wake up. Especially not any time soon."

I sighed shakily. "Are you sure?" I asked.

"As sure as I can be in such matters and cases. There's a chance she'll wake up, but there's more chance that the earth's magnetic poles will change again in the next week. I'd prepare yourself for the reality that's she's opened her eyes and spoken a word for the last time. I don't believe that she will ever get out of bed again."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"I'm afraid not. Only time will tell. But you need to prepare yourself for the possibility now," he said.

"And she'll never get off the permeolycine?" I asked.

"Most likely not. I'm not sure why things in her brain reacted suddenly like they did but the permeolycine should keep it from happening again. But we're going to have to monitor that as well. It may change."

"So we really don't know anything right now?"

"Your daughter is a very unique case. All we can do is guess right now and see what the future brings." I chuckled sarcastically.

"Isn't that true? I'm beginning to understand her hatred of waiting now," I said. The doctor smiled sympathetically.

"I know it's hard. And I hope everything turns out well. But it's better to think that everything won't turn out well, then you'll be prepared." I nodded.

"Can her friends come see her?" I asked.

"Of course. Hearing and olfactory capabilities are usually the last to go so she may actually hear them," he said.

"Thank you doctor."

"No trouble. We'll do our best to help her Mr. Rogers," the doctor said.

"I know you will. Thank you," I said. The man left and I turned, looking at Nights.

"You can do it. You can wake up," I said. She didn't give me any response.


	12. Chapter 11

_Two months ago_

"Mr. Rogers," the doctor said.

"Yes sir?" I asked. His expression was grim.

"I'm afraid I have bad news. The damage to Nights' brain is getting worse. She's not even capable of working her vital organs anymore. She's approaching brain death."

The coffee I was holding fell to the floor. Natasha had forced me to go sleep for a few hours in the hotel room that she had gotten and I was on my way back to relieve her. The doctor had met me on the way.

"When did this happen?" I asked.

"Over the night. She gave us all quite the scare. It was a steady and progressive decline. We've increased the permeolycine dosage and that seems to have stopped the progression but I don't know for how long. Mr. Rogers, I hate to say it, but if things keep going like this Nights won't live for much longer, comatose or not."

I nodded, leaning against the wall for support. "Thank you doctor," I said.

"I'm very sorry," he said, before walking away. I took a moment to gather myself before walking into Nights room, finding Natasha, Clint, Banner, Sam and Tony inside, their expressions grim.

"Do you really think she won't make it?" Sam asked. I shook my head and leaned against the wall, tilting my head back before moving it to look at the people in front of me.

"I have no idea," I said. Tony nodded.

"Banner, come with me," he said.

"Um, okay?" Banner said, leaving the room with Tony.

"It'll be okay Steve," Natasha said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"No," I said. "I don't think it will be."

 _One month ago_

We had had Nights moved back to the East Coast. She had been doing fine for a few days so we moved her fast as we could. As soon as we did though, her condition began to deteriorate again. She had been declared brain dead two days later. That was three days ago.

Tony and Banner hadn't been seen since that night a month ago. I didn't know what they were doing and I didn't want to. I spent my days with Nights, holding her hand and talking to her, watching movies and listening to music as well as reading what I had missed while in the ice. Sometimes I'd almost think I saw a slight change in her expression but it was just my imagination.

Natasha came and relieved me sometimes and Sam and Clint came to visit quite frequently. When Sam and Clint came over we played poker, dealing Nights in even though she couldn't play. "It's a good thing she can't play. She'd probably beat all our asses," Clint said.

"Probably," Sam agreed.

"I wish she would," I said.

 _Two weeks ago_

I walked with my coffee down the hospital hallway. Natasha had insisted that I get some sleep last night, offering to sit with Nights. I hadn't wanted to but she threatened to break my neck if I didn't. I was on the way back now.

I stopped outside the door. Natasha was talking with someone inside and some heavy equipment was being moved. I opened the door.

A machine thing was on Nights' head, Banner was standing beside her taking notes and Tony was talking to Natasha. "What's going on here?" I asked.

"Steve! What are you doing here? It's only five am," Natasha said.

"I couldn't sleep. Now what are these two doing here and what is on Nights' head?" I demanded.

"It's a special scanner," Tony said.

"What are you scanning for?" I asked.

"Well, if you're gonna ask like that, I don't think I should tell you," Tony replied.

"It's scanning Nights' brain waves and stuff so we can use the information to code something that's going to be able to save her," Banner said.

"What?" I asked.

"Well that's where we've been this whole time. Tony found a prototype from the days when Stark Industries still made weapons that can be implanted in her brain and, in theory, it will allow her to wake up and stop the damage to her brain and stuff," Banner explained.

"You can do that?" I asked Tony.

"In theory," he said.

"What are the chances of it working?" I asked.

"Slim but possible," Banner said. "Enough to legitimize a risk."

"What's the risk?"

"It's not compatible and we accidentally kill her," Tony said. I sighed.

"Which is the bigger chance?"

"Bigger chance that she'll make it. Not necessarily that she'll make it and it'll work, but she should make it. We'd have the best brain surgeon in the world put it in."

"The risk isn't that bad?" I asked.

"It's about normal for an experimental surgery," Tony said. I nodded.

"Do it then," I said.

"Got it. With this information we should be able to get it done within the month. Hopefully the little devil can hold out till then," Tony replied.

"Hopefully," I agreed.

 _Today_

I sat tapping my foot incessantly. "Relax Cap. She's going to be fine," Clint said.

"You sure about that?" I asked.

"It's Nights. She'll be fine."

"If your response to everything is 'It's Nights. She'll be fine,' then why is she in there?" I demanded.

"Steve," Natasha said.

"Sorry," I said, sighing and standing up to start pacing again. Nights had been in surgery for almost twenty four hours now. "How much longer?" I said, stopping to look at Tony.

He pulled the magazine off his head. "I have no idea Cap. It all depends on the wiring and stuff and how hard it is to get into her skull. Last I checked, all her bones were reinforced with titanium so it could be a damn long time," he said.

"Nights' bones are reinforced with titanium?" I asked.

"Yeah, still not sure when it got put in, but that's part of the reason she's not going to grow anymore," Tony said.

"Why is it I'm still learning about the stuff she was subjected to while in SHIELD? Did they use her as a guinea pig for everything new thing that came down the pipe?" I demanded.

"She volunteered for most of it," Natasha said.

"I don't care! They had no right to ask that of anyone, least of all her!" I said.

The sound of something crashing came from the operating theatre. I turned, running to the door. Natasha, Clint, Sam, Tony and Banner followed.

The doctors were holding Nights down as she convulsed, the monitor beeping wildly as someone ran for the defibrillator. "Nights!" I cried.

I turned to Tony, grabbing him by his lapels and shoving him against the wall. "What's going on?!" I demanded.

"Ugh, look I don't know! She may be rejecting it or it may just be calibrating! It could even be one of the doctors screwed up or she could just not be able to handle the surgery anymore. I don't know!" he said.

"Steve put him down," Natasha said. I released him and walked away, running a hand through my hair. _Please don't let her die!_ I cried silently, slumping to the hospital floor.

I don't know how long I was there, silently begging the universe to let Nights live. "Mr. Rogers?" an unfamiliar voice said. I lifted my head, looking into the face of the brain surgeon Tony had flown in from Germany.

"Yes?" I asked. He smiled.

"The surgery is over. She's doing well. I don't know whether the device is working or not, that's not my area of expertise, but she's survived the surgery."

 _Thank you!_ I said silently. "Can I go see her?" I asked.

"Of course," the doctor said, a smile on his face. I stood up, looking at Natasha, Clint, Sam, Tony and Banner before walking to the room where Nights was. I put my hand on the doorknob and took a breath before opening the door.

Nights was laying against the sheets, pale as the sheets with her head wrapped in bandages. The expression on her face was the same as before. I smiled, walking up to her and taking her hand.

"You did it Nights," I said, sitting beside her. "Now hopefully it'll work and we'll finally see those beautiful silver eyes of yours. Please, let it work Nights," I begged.

 **And so November has begun! How's it treating you guys so far? Good? Anywho, Halloween has been over for almost twelve hours now, so we get to start listening to Christmas music now, right? Because, I think we totally should start listening to Christmas music now. Hope you liked the chapter, read and review all that jazz, hope you have a wonderful night or day, whatever time it is where ever you are and I will hopefully, maybe see you tomorrow? I've got study questions to do so I may or may not be able to update tomorrow, depending on when I get those done. Anywho review! I know I said that already but Imma say it again. REVIEW! Please.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Special thanks to everyone who reviewed today! I can't tell you how nice it was to come home from work to find an inbox filled with reviews and other notifications! I'm so happy to have people like you guys reading my fics! I hope you will all keep reading and reviewing and enjoying this story! Now, enough of me being sappy, ON WITH IT!**

I woke to the feeling of the hair on my head being rubbed the wrong way. I let my eyes flutter open, my eyes finding dull, pain filled silver orbs. "Your hair is too long," Nights stated, very slowly, enunciating every syllable carefully.

"It is?" I asked, reaching up a hand to feel. She nodded, slowly.

"It's past regulation. You need to get it cut," she said, once again being very careful with her pronunciation.

"Yeah, I guess I do," I said. "How long have you been awake?" I asked.

"Twelve hours," she said. I jerked up.

"That long?! What time is it?" I asked.

"About eight AM."

"But I checked the clock two hours ago. I didn't see your eyes open," I said.

"It took a while to figure out how to open them again. It took even longer to figure out how to talk. It's still giving me problems," Nights said, turning her head slowly to look out the window.

"What do you mean? You're having trouble moving?" I asked.

"Everything but my head. And there's weird things flashing around in my head too. It feels like I've got one of the SHIELD programs up on a computer, except the computer is in my brain and it's playing across my vision," she said, turning her head slowly to look at me.

"I didn't think it'd do that."

"Didn't think what would do that?" Nights asked, tripping a bit over the "th" sound. I sighed.

"What's the last thing you remember?" I got up and turned my chair around, sitting back down on it and putting my arms on the back rest.

"Walking out of the garage after meeting Bucky," she said. I nodded.

"After that your nose, eyes and ears started bleeding and then you passed out. We took you to the hospital, apparently the radiation finally decided to come get you. It liquidated most of your brain stem before we finally got an experimental drug that Tony was testing, called permeolycine, into your system. It looked like it stopped the damage from going further for a while, but then we had to start upping the dosage because your brain would start deteriorating again. We don't know why."

"Wouldn't that have completely destroyed my brain though? How am I awake now?" Nights asked.

"You were declared brain dead. We thought you were about to die. But then Tony told us about this thing that Stark Industries had been developing when it was still making weapons. He believed that he could restructure it so that it could perform the duties of the damaged parts of your brain, while stopping further injury. You got out of surgery last night around ten."

"So I have a… what in my head?" she asked.

"To be honest I'm really not sure what it is. All I know is that it's the reason I'm having a conversation with you and not spouting a monologue from the pulpit of a church with a full casket a few feet away," I said.

"Was I really that close to dying?" she asked. I nodded.

"How long have I been out?"

"Two months," I said.

"That explains why your hair is so long. Is everyone okay?" she asked.

"Everyone is fine. They're going to come see you later," I said.

"Later being now," Tony said, walking into the room with a large blue orchid.

"Hello beautiful," he said, dropping to place a kiss on her cheek. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like shit," she said, as he placed the orchid by her bedside.

"Yeah well, that's normal," he said.

"They pretty much invaded your entire head. It's going to hurt quite a bit for a while, but it shouldn't last for too long," Banner said, walking in. "Here, I thought you might need this," he said, holding out a crocheted hat for her.

Her arms twitched, her expression concentrated, if not a little pain-filled. I grabbed the hat instead. "What's it for?" I asked.

"They had to cut off all her hair in order to get the Star system in," Tony said. An expression of disappointment filled Nights face briefly before she quickly hid it. If I hadn't been watching her face, I would've completely missed it.

"I figured you'd want something to keep you warm" Banner explained.

"Thank you," Nights said.

"Oh please, who needs a hat? All she needs is a little dark chocolate!" Clint said, from the doorway. He lifted a bag of the stuff to show her before walking over and depositing it on the bed.

"Dark mildly sweet chocolate, right?" she asked, her expression hopefully.

"Of course. How you doing princess?" he asked, placing a soft kiss on the bandages wrapped around her head. She smiled.

"Been better. Been worse too. But I've definitely been better," she said.

"Well don't worry, you're going to be okay again soon," he replied, patting her lightly on the shoulder.

"She's already looking a lot better to me," Natasha said, walking into the room. "You're looking great for someone who just underwent major brain surgery sixteen hours ago," she said.

"Thank you," Nights said. Nat nodded, handing me a book, its title indicating it was some kind of teen romance.

"For you to read to her later," she said. "Is that the new Ally Carter book?" Nights asked.

"Of course," Natasha replied.

"Thank you," Nights said, a smile on her face.

"Hey, what? Did you not like my gift? I thought you loved chocolate!" Clint complained.

"I do love chocolate. Which is why I'm going to be eating it while Steve reads to me," she said. Clint nodded, appeased.

"Better be careful. All that sugar will short out the computer in your head," Sam said from his place in the doorway.

"Hiya Sam," Nights said.

"You gonna make it?" he asked.

"By the skin of my teeth," she replied, a smile in place.

"Good," he said with a nod, pulling a large stuffed bear from behind his back and placing it next to her on the bed. Nights' eyes widened in delight.

"Here, use this to learn how to squeeze again," he said.

"You got it," Nights replied, her eyes glued to the fluffy object beside her.

"So, how're the more technical bits of the Star system going?" Tony asked.

"My vision is currently being assaulted with all of your files and the constant shifting around of them is making my head pound even worse," Nights complained.

"Yeah, having all that information at your fingertips and floating across your vision is a little discombobulating at first, but you get used to it and you learn how to keep up," he said.

"Is that why you're so fragmented?" Nights deadpanned.

"See, I don't get it. I save your life and sixteen hours later you're back to teasing me?" Tony complained.

"Of course. Teasing you is fun, almost as fun as teasing Sam," she said.

"Woah, don't you start now shorty, otherwise I'm taking that bear back."

"Yes Sam," Nights said.

"Hey you're listening to him now? Does that mean I should threaten to take the Star system out of your head if you don't be good?" Tony asked.

"Try it and my last action will be to replace Jarvis with a computerized version of my consciousness and I will haunt you wherever you go for the rest of your days," Nights threatened.

"We should've wired your attitude out," he said.

"You love my attitude," Nights argued.

"It gets old."

"So does you being an ass."

"I…"

"Don't deny it. Even Pepper says you're an ass," Nights said.

"She does not," Tony defended. Nights raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe she does," Tony conceded.

"She totally does."

Clint chuckled and Natasha smiled. Even Banner had a smile on his face as he pushed his glasses further up on his nose. Sam quirked the corner of his mouth up.

"Good to have you back Snippy," he said.

"Glad to be back," Nights said.

"I hate to interrupt the conversation, but Nights, can you move at all?" Banner asked.

"Only things that are above my shoulders and only with great pain and difficulty," Nights said. Banner nodded.

"The Star system is probably still calibrating and you're probably still getting used to it. You're most likely going to need a lot of physical therapy so you can learn how to move again. It's kind of different with the system being in your head, isn't it?" he asked.

"It's really different." He nodded.

"Eh, don't worry. I'll help you figure it out again," Tony said.

"You'd probably drop me on my face."

"I would not. Jarvis would keep me from doing that," he said. Nights' expression remained unchanged.

"We'll all help you figure it out. But right now you should probably sleep," Steve said.

"Sleep does sound nice," Nights conceded.

"Oh, don't forget to plug this in," Tony said, tapping a cord that ran from an outlet all the way to a place at the bottom of Nights' spine.

"What?" Nights and I asked.

"You gotta charge the battery for the Star system. Otherwise, you're going to be walking along the street and suddenly you're going to pitch forward in a coma because the power went out. So make sure to plug in every time you sleep," he said.

"Got it," Nights said.

"Okay, we'll see you all tomorrow," I said, pushing everyone out the door, much to their protests. Finally though, I managed to get the door shut. I turned back to Nights.

Her eyes were closed, a peaceful expression on her face as her chest rose and fell in an even rhythm, her steady breathing indicating she was asleep. I smiled, walking over and rubbing the back of my hand across her forehead gently. "Sweet dreams," I said, kissing her on the forehead.

 **Ugh, so happy Nights is awake again, I missed writing her snippy responses. I don't think I'm going to let her go comatose again, that was way too difficult. Anywho, good news! I actually watched Age of Ultron yesterday (Finally!) so potential hiatus averted! I'll be writing to get this fic lined up with that now so we should start getting into that soon. Once again, thank you so much for reading, and if you reviewed THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING! Please, continue to read and review and I will see you lot tomorrow. Bya!**


	14. Chapter 14

Having Nights closer to home included a lot of pros and cons. One of the pros was that I could go home whenever I needed to. One of the cons was that everyone was constantly telling me to go home and get some sleep while they stayed with Nights. I didn't mind them staying with Nights, in fact I was happy they'd come by. I wasn't so happy about what they did while they were there.

Natasha was the first to send me home. "Steve, you haven't left this hospital in one hundred hours. Go home, shower, sleep and please, get some decent food. I'll stay with Nights."

"But-"

"I'm in agreement with Nat Steve," Nights said.

"Oh, I see how it is. Fine, I'll go. But only for a few hours!" replied.

"Okay. See you soon," Nights said with a wave. She had been steadily learning how to move again with the Star system in her head. She could now move everything above her hips with only little difficulty.

I waved back before leaving. I came back four hours later, completely unprepared for the sight that greeted me. Nights and Natasha were both fully made up and Natasha was in the process of painting Nights' fingernails bright blue.

"Woah," I said, walking in.

"Ah, there you are Steve. What do you think?" Natasha asked, indicating Nights' face.

"She looks like a model!" I complained.

"And is that such a bad thing?" Natasha asked. Nights' face was stoic.

"Not exactly…" I trailed off, unable to find a way to finish the sentence.

"You don't like being reminded that you're going to need to get your gun soon to keep the boys away from her," Natasha surmised.

"Exactly," I said.

"Don't worry, you won't hear any complaints or anything from me," Nights added. "Males are ridiculous."

"Yes, that is very good Nights. All guys are ridiculous and you don't need them, so stay away," I said.

"Yes sir," she replied. Natasha smiled.

"Well, I better get going. I'll see you later Nights, okay?" she said.

"Okay. Goodbye Nat!" I walked her to the door.

"She's going to start catching their eyes soon," Natasha said quietly in the doorway.

"I'd rather not make that soon come quicker by putting makeup on her," I replied. She rolled her eyes.

"Goodbye Steve," she said, walking away. I shut the door and then turned back around. I found Nights vigorously rubbing her face with a wipe.

"What are you doing?" I asked, a smile on my face.

"Getting the gunk off! I hate it!" I laughed.

"Glad to hear it. Because you're not wearing it unless you absolutely have to,'" I said.

Tony was the next one to come in. He waltzed in with two big boxes filled with other boxes made out of plastic and wires and shoved me out the door. "Go, shoo, get some sleep!" he said.

"But-"

"Bye Steve!" he said before shutting the door. I sighed. _Might as well go home,_ I thought.

I came back the next morning. Tony and Nights were sitting in front of the television screen, weird objects in their hands, clicking the button that were on them, their eyes glued to the screen. Both were glassy eyed and Tony was grunting each time the red echidna took a hit.

"What are you two doing?" I asked.

"Playing Sonic Riders," they said simultaneously.

"Well, I'm playing. Tony's losing," Nights clarified.

"I still say you're cheating!" he cried. "Gah!" he exclaimed as Nights' character, which resembled a court jester in a purple outfit, delivered another blow, causing Tony's character to be picked up by a giant crow.

"Dude, this stupid thing you put in my head still isn't even calibrated! How can I use it to cheat?!" she demanded.

"How do I know you're not just lying? I can't see inside your head!" Tony quipped.

"Because those few hits you managed to get on me were when the thing was having a moment where it actually worked. I was too busy absorbing the information to pay attention to the game," Nights said.

"Please, you just don't want to admit I have skills!" Tony replied.

"Like hell you do!" Nights said.

"Language!"

"Can it tin boy!"

"How long have you two been awake?" I asked, before they could continue bickering further.

"Since you left," they replied simultaneously.

"What? You mean you two haven't slept?" I demanded.

"Nope."

"Been a little busy here."

"That's it. You're off, both of you, now. Get some sleep," I said, walking in front of the screen.

"Awww! Come on Steve! I wanted to make fifty for o," Nights whined.

"Yeah, come on Cap! One more race," Tony pleaded.

"Absolutely not. Nights, bed, now. Tony you can come back tomorrow," I said.

"Party pooper," Tony conceded.

"Wah," Nights complained, putting her controller thing down and laying back against the pillows.

"I'll be back with Split Second tomorrow. I'll beat you in that," Tony said at the door.

"Like hell you will!" Nights called pushing herself up slowly. I sighed.

"Sleep now," I said.

"Yes sir," she replied laying back against the pillows again. It turns out that it wasn't Tony that came back the next day. A knock sounded at the door and I lifted my head from the book I had been reading.

Banner waved. "Hi, um, I brought this book for Nights," he said, lifting it up to show the cover. Nights' eyes blinked open.

"What book?" she asked, pushing herself up. As she got her range of motion back she was moving as much as possible, trying to strengthen her muscles and make it easier to move.

"It's not really that interesting, it's by an author called Regina Doman. I think it's a fairy tale retake," he said, walking closer and handing the book to Nights.

"Well the cover looks cool, but what's the book called? I haven't figured out how to read again yet."

"Oh, well in that case it's kind of useless isn't it?" he said.

"Not if you read it to me, it isn't."

"Do you want me to?" he asked.

"If you have the time and don't mind," Nights said.

"Oh, I don't mind at all. Do you want to get a coffee or something while I read to her Steve?" Banner asked. Nights gave me a look that made it quite clear she thought I should get out. She'd already been wracking on me for not getting out enough.

"Is not that I don't like the company boss, I just thinks you needz to get out morez," she had said in a gangster voice.

"I guess I can go home for a little bit," I said.

"Okay great," Banner said, taking the chair I vacated and opening the book to page one.

"See you soon," I whispered to Nights as he started to read. She nodded before quickly becoming enraptured in the story. I smiled as I walked out the door. Nights was obsessed with books.

I came back a few hours later to find Nights fixated on the story and Banner still reading. "Whoops, I better go," Banner said, closing the book and standing up.

"What?! NO! Please read more!" Nights said, bolting up and then falling on her face on the bed. She was still having problems with balancing.

"I'll be back tomorrow," Banner said as he helped me lift her back off her face.

"Promise?" she demanded.

"Promise," he said, waving as he left.

"Good book?" I asked when he had gone.

"It's fabulous!" Nights said, her eyes wide. She had then proceeded to give me a full summary of the book, _Shadow of the Bear,_ which actually did sound really good.

"NO! GO AWAY! Come back in an hour!" Nights shouted at me as I opened the door the next day. I laughed.

"Okay, okay. I'll be back soon!" I said, closing the door. _What do I do now?_ I wondered, checking my watch. I decided to go down to the food court to get a coffee.

I got my coffee and sat down, pulling out my phone to look some things up as I drank it. "You get kicked out too?" a familiar voice asked. I smiled at Natasha as she sat down.

"Yeah, apparently she likes the book and Banner more than she likes me," I said.

"Aww, don't get too down. She'll start liking you again as soon as the book is finished," Natasha teased. I smiled, hanging my head playfully before lifting it back up.

"So how are you doing?" she asked. I sighed.

"I'm doing good. It's tough, but she's awake and alive now, so it's going a lot better. Now if only the social workers and her school will leave me alone," I said.

"Are they on your case?" she asked.

"Yeah. Apparently the school called the social workers because she stopped coming after only one day and now the social workers don't like that she's been in the hospital so long. They think I must've had something to do with it," I explained.

"That's rough," Natasha said. I nodded.

"I actually have a meeting tomorrow with one. Do you think you can be with Nights while I'm gone?" I asked.

"Of course," she said.

"Thanks. How about you, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing well. And I've certainly had fun with this whole caper," she said.

"I'm glad someone has," I commented. My watch buzzed.

"Looks like I can go back now. You coming?" I asked.

"Nah, I think I'll go home now. Tell Nights I said hi," she said.

"Will do. See you tomorrow." I walked back upstairs and opened the door to her room, this time greeted by the sight of Banner saying goodbye.

"Hi Steve!" Nights said, chipper as always. It almost seemed like her yelling at me to get out an hour ago hadn't happened.

"Hi sweetheart," I said, kissing her on the forehead. "Thank you Banner," I said as he left.

He waved. "No problem," he said, before leaving.

"Did you two finish it today?" I asked.

"Yup! He's bringing the sequel tomorrow," she said.

"Well that's good."

"Yup. Now what's with the face?"

"What face?"

"The face you've got on. It's half pensive, half pissed and there seems to be a small share of 'Ugh just leave me be!' in it. So what's up?"

I laughed at her description. "Well that about sums it up. The social workers were called by your school and now they want to have a meeting tomorrow," I explained.

"Told you school was a bad idea," she said. I hung my head and lifted it back again.

"You did," I agreed.

"I wouldn't worry though. You shouldn't have any problems. I don't have any hand shaped bruises on my or anything and I'm looking quite good for someone who was comatose for two months. Plus, the doctors can't explain what was going on with my brain so I doubt there's any chance of them being able to get away with putting something against you. Besides, they'd have to disagree with me in order to do that, and you _know_ disagreeing with me is not something someone in their right mind does, so if you went to court you could kill them dead with charges of mental insanity," Nights comforted.

"Thank you…?" I said. _I really should worry more about what goes on in this girl's head,_ I thought.

"So, how's your day been?" Nights asked. I smiled before starting to recount it, as comically as I could to entertain her. _Obviously, yesterday was better than today,_ I thought as I walked down the hall.

That was yesterday. I was now walking down the hall in a suit and tie with an elderly, perpetually disgruntled, old social worker. I had met with her an hour ago in her office but she insisted on being able to see Nights now, so we were now walking into Nights' room.

Which was currently occupied by Nights, Clint, Sam, Tony and Banner as they played poker. "Okay next round boys. Lay it on me Tony! See if I can't finish cleaning you all out!" Nights said.

"I'm out. I've lost my last dollar," Banner said.

"You've only lost two," Clint said, chuckling.

"Yeah, come on Bruce. Just one more," Tony tried to convince him.

"No. I'm not playing anymore," Banner reasserted.

"Banner's out. Come on now! Let's get this game going!" Nights said.

"Got it. But hey, go easy on the old man here," Tony said, indicating Clint.

"Shut it Stark," Clint commanded.

"Oh, sensitive about our age are we?" Sam said.

"I'll hurt you too," Clint warned.

"Clint isn't old. He's just well worn. And experienced, which means he could kill you two easier than you could kill him," Nights said.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should. Now can we shut up and play?" Nights asked.

"What on earth is going on here?!" the social worker demanded.

"Poker. You got a problem with that?" Clint said.

"Gambling? With a child?" the lady demanded in a shrill voice. _Shit,_ I thought.

"Last I checked, being able to play poker was a valuable ability. Besides, you're never too young for poker," Tony said.

"Gambling is the scourge of our society! Children who become addicted at a young age are destined to become worthless individuals who will never make anything out of themselves and will proceed to leech off of society for the rest of their lives! It is irresponsible to let children, or anyone for that matter, gamble!" the woman spluttered.

"Well I don't think-" Banner started.

"This girl is the victim of the bad choices of irresponsible adults and yet, here you are, teaching her to become just like her parents! You are contributing to the problem!" the woman continued.

"WOULD YOU SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH?!" All eyes jerked to Nights. She had never raised her voice like that before so it easily gained everyone's attention. Her silver eyes were flashing bloody murder, her face a mask of barely restrained fury.

"Now _obviously_ ," she said, "you have me confused with another case. I am _not_ the victim of irresponsible parents, my parents were killed for being good people. Second of all, I could not give a shit about what you think about gambling. You have no right to determine how I live my life or spend my free time and you sure as _hell_ do not have a right to come in here and start insulting my friends.

"I don't know why you're here, other than to find fault with everything you see, so I am going to give you a list of the facts and you are going to give them to your superiors and then _never_ bother me or Steve again. Steve has been the model parent, not only insuring that I have as normal and happy a life as possible, but also trying to gently remedy my many faults. He was not in any way involved in me ending up in the hospital and it is only thanks to his quick thinking that I am talking to you today. I am very happy with Steve, there's no one else I'd rather call Dad, and I swear, if you take me away from him or even try to, I will make your life a living hell."

I felt my chest swell with pride as the woman beside me's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" she said.

"You're excused. Now get out. You have a job to do and I have a poker game to finish. Besides, your presence is oppressive to everyone in this room," Nights said.

The woman spluttered. "Out. Now." Nights clarified. Everyone watched, eyes wide as the woman drew what little pride she had left around her and left the room.

"Wow, nice put down," Tony said.

"Let's just get back to the game," Nights seethed.

"Yes ma'am," they all chorused.

"Steve, do you want in?" Tony asked. I looked over at Nights. She smiled, her expression turning warm.

"Yeah, sure I'll play," I said, pulling up a chair.

"Alright, the old geezer is in. Let's do this people!" Tony said, dealing me in. I turned to look over Nights. Her expression was neutral, a mask of no emotion.

 _"There's no one I'd rather call Dad."_ Her words rang in my ears. I couldn't help smiling as I remembered them.

 **Wow, dang. This one got really out of hand. Hehe. But I enjoyed writing it and I think it shows how Nights' relationship works with some of the Avengers. Could just be me though. Either way it's funny. At least in my opinion. Welp, read, review, all that jazz, I'll hopefully be back tomorrow with an update and maybe a surprise. We'll see. ;) Till then my luvs!**


	15. Chapter 15

"Heyo everybody!" Tony said, walking into the room.

"Wassup?" Nights said, looking up from the release that Clint was fitting to her hand. Apparently, Nights used to shoot a compound bow and was looking at picking up the habit again. Clint was ecstatic when he heard and was already jumping at every chance to teach her something about it. He had already given her one of his old bows from when he was a teenager and now he was going over technique and stuff while she worked up the ability to be able to pull the bowstring back.

"Oh nothing much. I heard that you get out tomorrow," Tony said, his hands in his pockets as he bounced on his toes. Nights grinned broadly.

"Isn't it fabulous? I'm still going to have to use a cane but I couldn't give a shit. I'M GONNA BE OUT!" she exclaimed, throwing up her arms and falling back on her bed, laughing.

"Yay!" Tony said.

"Hey, how about a warning next time so you don't clock me in the face?" Clint asked, teasingly.

"Sorry," Nights giggled, pushing herself up.

"Better watch it Clint. Nights is as slow as a slug, if you can't avoid being hit by her you may want to consider retiring," Natasha said from her place in the corner.

Clint glared while Nights laughed. She had been punch drunk ever since she had heard about her imminent release. "Yeah, hate to crash the wrack on Clint party, but I'm afraid I've got some bad news," Tony said.

"Waaah?" Nights asked, sitting with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap, looking up at Tony with a puppy dog expression.

"Okay, you're gonna have to stop with the puppy dog eyes, otherwise I'm not going to be able to get this out," he said. Nights dutifully arranged her features into a look of indifference.

"Right, now I'm afraid that Steve, Natasha, Clint and myself are going to have to go out of town for the weekend," Tony said, recovering.

"What? What for?" I demanded.

"A Hydra outpost has been discovered, of all places, in the plains of Kansas. They've got a bit of a stronghold there and they may have some information as to the location of Loki's scepter. So we have to go in and bust it up," Tony explained.

"Who's going to watch Nights? That's right after she gets out. I can't leave her alone," I protested.

"Ah, yeah see I thought about that. Natasha and Clint obviously didn't do a very good job of watching her last time, and if they can't do it Sam sure can't, especially not alone, so I was thinking we'd get Maria Hill and Thor to do it," Tony said.

"Thor is off world," Nights said, her eyes narrowed.

"Ah actually about that," Tony said, leaning back a bit. "I may have run into him on the street."

"What?" I asked.

"Greetings, fellow Avengers!" Thor said, walking into the room. He was dressed in a pretty normal outfit, jeans and a large hoodie with his hair back in a low ponytail.

"Hi," Natasha said.

"Where have you been?" Clint asked with a chuckle.

"Thor," I said.

"You're seriously going to have a god and Maria Hill babysit me?" Nights demanded.

"I am not familiar with the term babysitting, however it will be my pleasure to engage in trivial past times for this thing called 'the weekend'," Thor said, with a smile.

"Babysitting means you're going to have to supervise me and keep me from getting into trouble, which I am very good at," Nights said.

"I believe I can keep you from engaging in various battles and deceptions for such a small period of time," Thor said.

"And cue me feeling uncomfortable about this. Tony are you sure Thor can handle Nights for the weekend while we're gone? Wouldn't it be better to have him with you guys and leave me behind?" I said.

"Uh no, because you are our fearless leader and as much as Nights may want to have you with her, and as much as you'd rather watch her yourself, we need you more. Besides, he's going to have Maria helping. Maria is the one who used to babysit Nights when Phil was gone," Tony said.

"Actually, I helped Fury watch her when Phil was gone. And it was more Fury than me doing the watching," Maria said, walking into the room.

"I rest my case," I said.

"He could watch her with only one eye? I was using both and she still got away from me!" Clint said. I rolled my eyes.

"Fury was scary!" Nights retorted. "Hi Maria!"

"Hello Nights. I'm sorry it took so long for me to come visit. Been a little busy cleaning up Tony's messes," Maria said, handing Nights a small dog stuffed animal.

"Ah, say no more then," Night replied with a giggle.

"Hey!" Tony protested.

"Ah yes. I was informed of the custom of bringing gifts to ill persons. I hope this is sufficient," Thor said, reaching outside the door and pulling a large stuffed Totoro into the room. Nights' eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"Is very sufficient. Thank you," she said, holding out her arms for it. Thor placed it on the bed with her.

The stuff Totoro was about four foot nine inches tall and three feet across at its widest point. When he placed it on the bed with her, it completely covered Nights, making it so only her hands and wrists were visible. She popped her head out from under it.

"I love it!" she said.

"I am glad you enjoy it tiny one! So, we shall have a great deal of fun this weekend with Maria Hill, shall we not?" Thor said.

"This we shall!" Nights agreed. "We shall watch many movies and consume much sustenance!" she said.

"Very well tiny human!" Thor said, laughing.

"See? No need to worry Steve!" Tony said. Maria rolled her eyes.

"It should be fine. You guys go take care of whatever you need to, we'll keep Nights out of trouble," Maria said.

"I don't know…" I said.

"I'll be good this time! I swear! It won't be like it was with Clint and Natasha!" Nights asserted.

"What? You mean you like Thor better than us?" Clint asked.

"Ouch, and here I thought we were close," Natasha said.

"It's not that. It's just I knew Steve was going to get himself killed if I wasn't there. And he nearly did too! But since the rest of you guys are going to be around then I don't think I have to worry about him. Plus I'm not exactly in the best shape to go saving his ass right now, so I guess being good for Thor is the only thing I can do to keep Steve from doing something stupid like getting himself killed," Nights argued.

"Suuuureee," Clint said. "You sure he hasn't just bought you off with the over grown teddy bear?"

"Have you seen this thing?! It's as big as I am!" Nights said.

"I think that's about as much assurance as you're going to get Steve," Natasha said.

"I guess so. Nights, you okay with me going away for the weekend?" I asked.

"Yes sir! I'm not going to really want to do anything right when I first get out anyways," she asserted.

"Alright then. Guess you can count me in," I said.

"Well then, let's go kick some Hydra ass!" Tony said.

 **And here's the update. I actually got it done early! Yay! Now I can go read** ** _Smallville_** **FanFiction. My latest obsession has taken hold. So, please read and review and I shall be back tomorrow with another update. Let's hear it for weekends people. Tschuss my luvs!**


	16. Chapter 16

"You sure you're gonna behave? No running off after us or anything?"

"As much as I'd love to sneak along so I can save your ass when it inevitably ends up in serious trouble, at the moment it's much more lucrative for me to stay here and therefore save _my_ ass so I can fight another day," Nights said. "Besides, Mr. Testosterone over here needs some exposure to the finer things in life. Like chick flicks."

Thor leaned aside to Maria. "What is a 'chick flick'?" he asked.

"A movie that most guys wouldn't watch," Maria explained. I sighed.

"Okay, be good, alright?" I said. Nights rolled her eyes.

"I will, don't worry. I won't do anything stupid. I promise. The best way for me to keep you safe at the moment is for me to do exactly as you say so you don't have to worry, so that's exactly what I'm going to do."

She was sitting on the couch, leaning against the Totoro Thor got her, her legs curled up to her chest, her silver eyes filled with the usual pain but with something else in them I couldn't name. She was wearing her Totoro onesie, which she had had me bleach it white so she looked like the smaller Totoro when she was leaning against the stuffed one, with her hood up, covering the bandages that were still on her head, hiding the fact that she didn't have any hair.

I smiled and walked up to her, kissing her on the forehead. "Okay. I love you," I said.

"Love you too," she said.

"See you Nights!" Clint called.

"Yeah, be nice to Maria and Thor alright? Don't go making him insecure or anything," Tony said. Nights glared.

"Goodbye Nights, Thor, Maria," I said.

"Get it done," Maria said.

"May you conquer all your enemies with ease!" Thor called.

"Thanks. Good luck with Nights!" I said.

I climbed onto the quinjet. "Think they're going to be alright?" I asked when I walked on.

"Steve, Nights already said she wasn't going to do anything that would worry you. I think she's sincere about spending the entire weekend in the house watching chick flicks with Thor," Natasha said.

"I know. I'm still worried though."

"Welcome to parenthood!" Clint called from the pilot seat.

"How would you know what parenthood's like Clint? Something you want to tell us?" Tony asked.

"Nope! Just heard that's what it's like. Worrying every time you leave the house that they're going to get into trouble, wanting to get up in the middle of the night to make sure they're still breathing, wanting to portion their food out for them so you can make sure they're getting enough…"

"That's exactly what it's like," I said, sitting down.

 **Time change is a bitch, isn't it? Sorry about the short chapter. Brain is frazzled from the weirdness of today, what with it looking and feeling like it's 13:00 when it's only 12:00 out. Gah! So yeah, apologies. Hope you like though, read, review, share tips on how to survive the first two or three days of daylight savings time, whatever. I go now.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey everybody! So yeah, turns out, posting while half asleep is a** ** _really_** **bad idea! Sorry about the duplicate chapter I posted yesterday but hey, guess that means you get two new updates today! Once again, sorry about that. I think I fixed it all now. Hope you enjoy!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello my luvs! Gosh I don't know what it is with the month of November but it kills me every year! Anyway, I'm very very sorry but I'm afraid I'm on hiatus for the rest of this month. I know, I know, awful, awful, scream in pain. But technical difficulties with my computer, an increase in school and work workloads as well as annual November stress is going to make regular updates impossible. I might manage one or two this month but we'll have to see. Hopefully I'll be back at regular updates sometime in December. In the meantime, read, review, check out the other stories I have, look up the books and movies I have not so subtly been endorsing and have a wonderful month! I will be back, I promise. I will always return. You cannot be rid of me. Bwahahaha!**


	19. Chapter 19

I sighed, walking back into the tower. The mission had been a success for the most part. We hadn't found the scepter, which was the main focus of the mission, but we had gained valuable information and we had taken out a HYDRA stronghold.

Amazingly, I hadn't gotten a call from either Maria Hill or Thor. Of course, that only served to worry me more. A silent Nights was a very bad thing.

"Anybody here?" I called out, kind of quiet on the astronomical chance that they were all sleeping.

"Over here," Maria called. I walked towards the kitchen where her voice had come from.

"How'd it go?" She asked.

"Good," I said, bouncing on my heels once before looking around for Nights and Thor. "Where-" I started.

"Couch," Maria said. I walked over to where the couches and Tv were. I nearly fell flat on the floor at what I saw. _You're kidding me,_ I thought.

Thor was sitting on the couch with his head against the back snoring away, a sleeping Nights' feet in his lap. She was stretched out on the couch, wearing the same onesie she had been wearing when I left, sleeping like a baby. A chick flick was playing on the TV with the volume turned off, a whole stack of DVDs and the Netflix remote sitting on the coffee table along with about twenty empty bags of kettlecorn popcorn and six empty cream soda sixpacks.

"What happened?" I asked, observing the carnage.

"After you left, they put the first movie in the stack in and they only moved for bathroom breaks and refills," Maria said.

"You're kidding."

"Nope. They didn't even sleep. Finally conked out about an hour ago."

I shook my head, hands on my hips. "She really did keep her word," I said.

"Nights will always keep her word. Which is why it's so hard to get her to give it. I can only recall once when she went back on a promise, Maria said, coming to stand beside me.

"When was that?" I asked, turning to look at her.

"Going into the training simulator. She promised Phil she'd be out in time for dinner," she said quietly. I clenched my fist.

"She should've been," I said. Maria nodded. We stood still, watching them for a few moments.

"Think there's any chance I can move her to her room without her waking up?" I asked.

"Normally, I'd say no. This time though, maybe."

"May as well try," I said, walking forward.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Banner said, appearing on the walkway above us.

"Yeah the little demon has a tendency to try to take your nose off if you touch her when she doesn't see it coming," Tony agreed, walking in before bounding up the stairs to join Banner in the lab.

"She only did that the one time with you," Natasha commented, waltzing in and crossing her arms. "Normally she pretends to still be asleep until she knows who has her. Then she acts accordingly."

"Yeah it's officially impossible to move her without waking her up. Even if she's pulled three all nighters in a row. Plus, no offense Steve, but you're not exactly gentle and it takes a special touch to move sleeping kids," Clint added, walking into the kitchen and popping open one of the stray cream sodas.

"Well, with all the noise you're all making, I think she'll be moving herself soon," Maria scolded.

Natasha stood with what passed for a sheepish expression, though it looked more like a smirk, and Clint just shrugged before taking another swig out of the soda bottle. "Right, well we'll be going now," Tony said, pushing Bruce towards the labs.

I opened my mouth but was interrupted from saying something by a small "No." I turned towards the direction the word had come from, my eyes falling on a now not so peacefully sleeping Nights. Sweat was breaking out on her brow and and expression of agony was on her face.

"No, no, don't. Please don't. Please!" she muttered, her words coming out in a heart wrenching plea.

"Nights?" I asked. The heads of my teammates, all except Thor, turned towards Nights. "Nights," I said again, walking closer to her.

The next moment a blood curdling scream echoed throughout the floor. Thor jerked awake as the glass vibrated. "NO!" Nights shrieked, the cry ripping through her body, causing her back to arch in an unnatural way.

"Nights!" I yelled, closing the distance and pulling her into my arms. "Nights! Nights it's okay I'm here!" I said, frantically patting her cheeks and shaking her, trying to get her to wake up as her panting and desperate pleading continued.

Nights' eyes snapped open. Her pupils were dilated in terror, the ever present pain overwhelming the silver orbs to the point that I thought it'd break her. Her gaze was blank, staring at some unseen terror.

"Stop it! STOP IT NOW! Please! PLEASE SOMEBODY STOP IT!" she cried, with every fiber of her being it seemed. She snapped herself into a ball, jerking her eyes shut and covering her head.

"Nights!" I yelled.

"Maria Hill, what is the meaning of this?" Thor demanded, leaning over Nights body in a protective manner.

"I-I don't know. Tony!" Maria demanded. Tony raced down the steps, followed closely by Bruce.

"She's not dreaming but she's not really awake. Almost like she's hallucinating," Banner said, coming up to us and forcing Nights to lift her head, removing her hands from her eyes as he looked into them.

"Tony what's going on?" Clint demanded. His tone made me turn briefly, barely restrained fury and helplessness apparent on his face.

"I think the STAR system finally calibrated," he said.

"I thought it was supposed to help her," Natasha said, her calm tone dangerous.

"It is," Tony replied.

"This doesn't look like helping to me!" Maria said.

"Yeah, kinda realize that," Tony said. I stood, the sound of Nights' pleas momentarily drowned by the sound of my own fury. I stood up and, walking towards Tony, slammed him into a wall.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO HER STARK?!" I demanded.

"I-I don't know, okay?!" he exclaimed. I threw him towards her.

"Well find out!" I said.

"Right, right," Tony said, grabbing one of the many random tablets that was lying around. "JARVIS, get me a scan of Nights' brain activity."

"Very well," JARVIS' robotic voice said.

"SHANE!" Nights screamed.

"Shit!" Tony said, tapping on the tablet.

"Tony?" Natasha asked, drawing it out. "What is it?"

"The STAR system is calibrating at an extremely fast rate instead of the gradual rate it was set for."

"Meaning?" Clint demanded, walking closer.

"Meaning that Nights' brain is currently having information on every human being and every situation she's ever encountered processed by her brain."

"Why is that much information going through her head?!" I demanded.

"It was originally a weapons system, remember?"

"You were supposed to just make it so that it'd allow her to live a normal life!" I yelled.

"We couldn't change the system from it's original purpose without losing its ability to help Nights. Right now it must be going through her memories and making her relive them," Tony said.

"Her memories are this bad?" I asked, looking at the writhing girl in my arms.

"Damn. I knew she had been through some tough shit but the memories are doing this to her?" Clint said.

"The training program went really wrong. No one except Nights knows how wrong and she never told us anything more than she absolutely had to," Maria said quietly.

"Shit." I rubbed a hand over my face. Nights' whimpers filled the air.

"What can we do?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's going to go over everything and she's going to have to absorb all of it. We just have to wait," Tony said.

"Can her brain handle that much information?" Natasha asked.

"We'll find out," Banner said. I sighed shaking, taking Nights back into my arms.

"You can do it," told her as she shuddered in my arms. "You can do it."

 **Hello my luvs! I've missed you all so bad! Unfortunately, I'm still mostly offline because of pre-holiday craziness and technical difficulties but I found a way around the tech stuff so from now until an unknown point in the future I will be updating when I have time. Here's what seems like a long chapter (at least to me) to appease you so you'll hopefully let me live long enough to write the next chapter :). I'd love some reviews. Like seriously. They're on my Christmas list. They also motivate me to work faster and therefore update sooner. Luv ya guys! Be back soon!**


	20. Chapter 20

"Vitals are normal, brainwaves have stabilized, how do you feel Nights?" Tony asked twenty four hours later. It had been the longest twenty four hours of my life. Watching Nights tremble at unseen terrors and screaming in fear had my nerves completely shot and my guilt at an all-time high.

I couldn't stop wondering what it was that had caused so many painful memories. I still couldn't believe that Nights had been exposed to so many terrors. And I couldn't stop beating myself up over the fact that I hadn't been there to save her, and that I wasn't here now to help her.

"Like I just spent the last twenty four hours having the entire internet downloaded into my brain and shot out through my eyes. Oh wait, I did," Nights stated, her sarcastic statement lacking its usual bite.

"Well, it wasn't the _entire_ internet," Tony stated cautiously, a slightly sheepish look on his face.

"Yeah, we're sorry about that. There should've been a block on the system where it gradually calibrated but something must've happened where it decided to download all at once. The system is fine now though so there shouldn't be any more hiccups," Banner said, shooting Tony a look.

"'Shouldn't be any more hiccups'?!" I demanded. "That last one could've killed Nights!"

"But it didn't," Tony said. I shot him a look.

"How would you like it if information for every single situation in your life downloaded into your brain in a space of twenty four hours," I shot.

"I'd probably say 'Pass,'" Tony said.

"And yet you just subjected Nights to that?" I demanded. He opened his mouth to retort when Nights cut him off.

"Boys, boys, please, I'm fine. I've got a headache the size of Texas, I just relived every single stupid and painful moment in my life, presented in bright new technicolor, and I'm trying not to fall off the table because my field of vision is being obstructed by all your files popping up in it, but other than that, I'm good, I'm good. Tony and Bruce had nothing to do with the hiccup, though they'll spend the rest of tonight finding out why it happened, I don't blame anyone here and so it's all good! I love my Totoro, I want to go to sleep and I love everybody! Unless you don't love my Totoro, or you won't let me go to sleep, then we goin' have a problem," Nights said, popping off the table gracefully. The gracefulness of the move ended when she fell flat on her face on the floor.

Tony, Banner and I rushed forward to grab her before she popped back up again. "It's good! It's all good!" she said with her hands in the air. "I love everybody, unless you don't love my momma, then we goin' have a problem!"

She walked out of the lab towards her bedroom, continuing to profess that she was absolutely, perfectly fine. I turned to Tony and Banner. "Find out what happened," I growled.

"They're already working on it Steve," Natasha said, walking up and placing a restraining hand on my shoulder. I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face.

"Sorry," I said.

"Don't apologize, Banner and Stark messed up and Nights paid the price. You have every right to be pissed," Clint said.

"Not helping Clint," Natasha said.

"I never said I was going to. I think he's fully in his rights to smash them both up against a wall. Especially since Nights was already having nightmares and now they probably just made them worse."

"Nights has been having nightmares?" I asked, turning towards him.

"Bad ones," Clint answered before walking out of the room. I grunted in frustration, walking away a bit before turning back.

"Why did I not know this?" I demanded crossing my arms.

"Nights has been living with the nightmares for years. They're normal to her. The only reason Clint knows about them is because his room is next to her."

"And he told you."

"I may have asked," she stated, a slight smirk on her face.

"I should've known to have asked," I said. She stopped smiling.

"Steve you can't expect to know everything about Nights. She's spent her life learning how to fix herself and she's gotten pretty damn good at it. She's not suddenly going to come and ask that you help her save herself," Natasha said.

I looked her in the eye. "She's not the only one who's learned to fix herself, is she?" Natasha shook her head. I sighed.

"It shouldn't be like that. For either of you. No one should have to know how to and try to fix themselves," I said.

"So why do you?" Natasha asked quietly.

"There's not many people who can help a guy who's been frozen in the ice for seventy years," I said.

"And there's not many people who can help a woman raised to be an assassin, or a little girl who has survived the death of her family and the members of the training program she was in," Natasha countered. "Lead the way Steve, you start talking and she will too."

I sighed. "I guess you're right."

"You know I'm right." Natasha smirked. "You want to go check on her?" she asked, inclining her head towards the direction where Nights had gone.

"I probably should," I said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Natasha replied. I walked to Nights' room. I listened quietly at the door before knocking. She didn't answer.

"She's probably sleeping," Clint said, poking his head out from his room.

"How often does she have the nightmares?" I asked.

"Just about every night."

"That often?"

"Yup. She doesn't go back to bed afterwards either."

"How many hours does she get?" I asked.

"About three. On a good night," Clint replied.

"Only three? How does it not show?" I demanded.

"She's an expert at hiding it. I know for a fact that she's a very talented makeup artist."

"She wears makeup?" I asked.

"You're really clueless, aren't you Steve?" Clint said, before going back into his room. I turned back to Nights' room. I sighed.

I decided to wait until tomorrow to talk to Nights. She was sleeping now and if Clint was right, she definitely needed her sleep. _Sleep well Nights,_ I thought, walking off.

 **Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Now gimme something to be thankful for, howzabout some reviews? ;)**


	21. Chapter 21

"Let's go." I heard Steve's voice in my ear and smiled. It had been six months since the STAR system had been implanted in my head.

It had taken three months to finally figure it all out but finally, with the help of mental concentration and Clint's martial arts and firearms classes, I had it under control and I could assimilate the information I wanted as it came at me. Of course, we had kept the classes a secret from Steve since he wouldn't have been happy about them.

Clint's efforts had helped me to learn how to move with the STAR system. At first, I had been so klutzy I couldn't go five steps without falling flat on my face, but now I could keep up with him and Natasha in just about everything, no baubles or anything. I hadn't fallen or lost my balance in four months now.

Which is why I was on top of a building across from the target with a sniper rifle trained on our guy. Steve didn't know I was there, he would be furious once he found out, but Clint knew I was ready to start helping and so there I was. My job was to keep an eye on the target and shoot him if he tried to escape while the Avengers infiltrated the base. I had hacked the comms system they were using, as well as that of the hostiles. Enemy chatter, as well as friendly chatter, rang in my ears as I analyzed the map of the inside the STAR system had brought across my vision.

"Clint, you've got two coming your way," I whispered.

"Thanks Nights," he replied as he took them out. I watched via the security system, which was now in my power.

"Nights, do you have the target in sight?" Natasha asked. The three of us had our own channel that we were communication on, as well as the main channel with the rest of the Avengers.

"He knows you're there but he's not moving. Mostly because he doesn't seem to be able to get verifiable information about your exact location," I said, my voice smug.

"Attagirl Nights, keep at it!" Clint said. I smiled. This was the third mission that I had piggybacked on without Cap's knowledge and I was getting good at the silent backup thing.

"Somebody tell Iron Man five bogeys are coming his way," I said.

"Got it!" Natasha replied, making her way to Tony.

"Nights, where's the target?" Clint asked.

"On the move," I said, watching as the man finally decided to make a break for it. "He's heading towards the roof."

"Guys! He's making a break for it! Somebody get him!" Cap's voice called in on the main channel.

I swore. Cap was almost to the control room which was filled with hostiles. I wouldn't have been concerned, except the HYDRA fragment that we were currently taking down had been experimenting with weapons to find ones that were capable of stopping the Avengers. The files I had been sifting through while watching the leader had shown that they had perfected a weapon that could seriously hurt Steve.

"Clint, Cap's walking into an ambush. Can you, Banner or Tony get to him?" I asked.

"Sorry, no can do. I've got my hands full, Banner's too far away and Tony's busy."

"Shit," I said, putting down my gun and clipping my belt on.

"Nights? What's that noise?" Natasha asked.

"I'm going in!" I said, pulling the crossbow off my back and loading it with an arrow equipped with a zip line.

"Are you sure about that? Cap's going to be furious," Clint said, his words interspersed with the sound of punches and groans. I pulled the bolt back.

"Hell yeah I'm sure," I said, firing it. It shot through the window and hit the wall on the inside right as Steve burst into the hostile filled room.

I slung my belt over the wire and grabbed it. "Better watch out bastards," I said. "Cuz here I come!" I said, plunging off the roof.

The wind whipped in my face, pulling my hood down but leaving the mask over my face. I crashed through what remained of the window and put my feet out to act as breaks. My legs caught me as I hit the wall and I pushed, flipping off the wall and making a complete circuit before twisting and landing on one of the guys aiming a gun at Cap.

"Incoming!" I said, tucking off of him and landing in a low squat, before launching myself forward at another guy and tackling him to the floor. We fell to the floor, me making sure his head hit first, before I rolled off of him, unsheathed one of the knives at my waist and threw it at a hostile about to take a shot at Steve.

I stole a look at Steve and saw that he was frozen in confusion. I also saw another guy taking aim. "9 o'clock!" I yelled, running in the opposite direction at another one of the enemy. Steve unfroze and lifted his shield, blocking the blast with it before throwing it at the man and knocking the guy out.

I disabled my guy and turned. "Take a knee!" I yelled. Steve knelt and I ran towards him, placing a foot on his back. "Lift!" I yelled again. He did so and I used to momentum to launch myself in the air, folding my left leg and sticking my right leg out, kicking a guy in the chest and using the kick to change my direction, back flipping off of him and throwing a knife to the side, hitting another guy in the chest with it.

I ran towards Cap and called "Shield!" He lifted it and I flipped off of it, catching a guy in the head and sending him face forward into Cap's still raised shield. Two more knives disposed of the rest of my half of the hostiles and a couple well placed throws neutralized the rest of the hostiles.

In the silence we caught our breath, Cap looking around in confusion while I pushed loose hair out of my face. "Whose got the target?" I asked, walking over to the computers.

"I've got Dr. Frankenstein right here," Tony replied.

"Alright, I'll download all this stuff, Tony you get Frankenstein loaded up and then we can get the hell out of here," I said.

"Okay we'll wrap it up," Clint's voice came through the comms.

"Good. Natasha, we need a handshake with Banner if you could. Iron Patriot, could you finish up any stragglers? Everyone else, grab what you can and then get back to the jet," I said.

"Hey Tiny, when did you get to be in charge? Actually, while I'm on that subject, when did you even get here?"

"I snuck into the jet before you guys left. I did the same thing on the last mission, the one before that, and the one before that as well," I said, tapping on the computer.

"Wait, those little goof ups? That was you?" Tony asked.

"No, it was the Chinook fairy. No shit it was me!" I said, pressing enter.

"How did she do that without us knowing about it?" Rhodes asked.

"I knew," Clint said.

"I did too," Natasha added.

"Both of you knew and you didn't tell me?!" Steve finally broke in.

"Don't worry Steve, I wasn't going to tell them either but I had to hide under someone's seat and everyone knows that whatever Clint knows Natasha knows."

"We'll discuss this when we get home," Steve said.

"I like that plan! Now, I'm done here so let's go."

 **APOLOGIES! Writer's block has been a bitch lately. I couldn't think of anything for the next chapter until I finally got the idea for a time skip. Sorry if you wanted to see Nights adjusting but I just couldn't think of a way to make it work. If you still wanna see it though drop me a PM and I'll see if maybe I can do a oneshot about it or something. Anyways, one or two more chapters and then I'm going to merge with** ** _Age of Ultron_** **and continue with the rest of the Marvel movies, keeping it mostly cannon with a few deviation.** **** **Which of course means I must now start a ship war. Should I let Pietro live and go with him and Nights or should I up Peter Parker's age and set Nights up with him? REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW! Please. ALSO! Shoutout to my buddy TheFullmetalSociopath! For, among other things, reminding me that writer's block is everywhere! And that I'm not the worst person on earth if I can't update because of it. You da best Luv! But enough of my ramblings and such. REVIEW! Tell me whatcha think and all that jazz!**


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